Harry Potter and the Twists of Destiny
by Shadow of the Blue Moon
Summary: When a Ravenclaw Harrison "Harry" Potter has an eidetic memory, is betrothed, has a group of friends and hates Dumbledore, what will he do? Is being re-written (even though it's not finished) as of August 20, 2018.
1. Welcome to the Wizarding World!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter One – Welcome to the Wizarding World!**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

The 24th of July, 1991, was a sunny day. To most people who lived in Britain, that should have been a relatively good day, even if it wasn't a brilliant one – it was a sunny day, it was a Friday (just one day left until the weekend!) and it was summer. For the raven-haired, green-eyed boy known as Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, to the wizarding world – even if his real name was _Harrison_ Potter – it was a week until his eleventh birthday, as well as the day his life changed forever, for the better and the worse.

At seven a.m. on that auspicious day, Harry Potter was standing behind the kitchen sink of a two-storey Muggle house, cleaning the pans used to cook breakfast. That house in Little Whinging, 4 Privet Drive, was the house in which he had resided in ever since the night he lost his parents, Halloween of 1981. He lived there with his Aunt Petunia (his mother's sister), her husband Vernon, and their son Dudley Dursley. That meant he had been living there for almost ten years, although it definitely wasn't a home for him.

While Harry was busy cleaning the used kitchen utensils, his so-called family were gorging themselves or picking at their food. Uncle Vernon and Dudley were both stuffing their faces with food while Aunt Petunia was picking at her food, nowhere near finished even though she only had a slice of toast and a scrambled egg on her plate. Harry eyed their plates of food, trying to figure out if there would be enough leftovers for him to eat breakfast. If there wasn't, he'd have to wait until lunch.

Just then, they heard the click of the mailbox and the flop of letters on the doormat, meaning the post had arrived. "Get the mail, boy," Uncle Vernon snapped at Harry, seeing as his son hadn't finished breakfast yet and neither had he, as usual. Although he had cooked it, Harry wasn't allowed to eat with them, meaning that he had to fetch the mail every morning, save for the occasional days when Vernon, Petunia or Dudley was expecting something important and went to get the mail.

Without a word, Harry set down the pan he had been cleaning and the cloth he was using, washed his hands and went to fetch the mail. As usual, there was a stack of mail, which he picked up and began to sort through. Today, there were only three things, less than there usually were: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister, 'Aunt' Marge, who was currently on holiday on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like the electricity bill, and _a letter for him_.

Harry's eyes grew wide as he took in his letter. His _first_ letter, actually. Putting the rest of the mail down on the doorstep, he held his letter closer to his face and inspected it closely. The envelope, and he suspected the letter as well, wasn't made of paper. There was a wax seal on the back, with the crest of a place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And the strange thing was, it had his address – down to the 'Cupboard Under the Stairs' – written in green ink on the front.

"Boy! What are you doing with the mail?" Uncle Vernon called from the dining room. "We told you to get it, not read everything!"

Harry stared at his letter for a few more seconds, before quickly tucking it away in a pocket of his pants lest the Dursleys find out about the letter and try to take it from him (he wouldn't put it past them). He picked up the rest of the mail, and, returning to the dining room, handed the pile to Uncle Vernon. He then returned to what he had been doing before he left, knowing that the faster he finished his chores for the morning, the faster he could return to his cupboard to read the letter.

Later that morning, after all his chores for the morning had been finished, Harry returned to his cupboard to read his letter. It was a letter from the Deputy Headmistress of a school called 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry', a woman named Minerva McGongall, who was inviting him to the aforementioned school. Enclosed was a booklist, with things like a wand, several spellbooks, robes and a cauldron. Was it possible that magic existed?

Seeing the word 'Magic' triggered a bombardment of memories: a bookstore, filled with books from ceiling to floor, packed with people. A apothecary, which sold things like 'unicorn horns' and 'hemlock' instead of usual things. A pet shop, which sold owls and toads. A shop display of broomsticks, all known as 'Cleansweeps'. A small pub known as the 'Leaky Cauldron', which was packed full of people in robes. A white bank, Gringotts, which was run by little creatures known as 'goblins'.

 _The Leaky Cauldron._ Somehow, that seemed important, even if he had no idea why. Upon delving through his 'Strange' section of his memories – his memories were organised and in sections, which he needed because of his near-perfect memory – he found that it was the gateway between London and wizarding Britain's shopping area, an alley called Diagon Alley that would sell everything he needed for school. All one had to do was get to the pub, enter it from the London side and exit through the magical side.

After he had finished going through his memories, he looked through his travelling memories – which were admittedly few in number, as he had rarely been taken somewhere, and even then, the Dursleys had never taken him to London – and found a possible route to London. Once he arrived there, he could easily walk to the Leaky Cauldron – which was located on Charing Cross Road – and get to Diagon Alley that way. Now, all he had to do was convince Aunt Petunia to let him go for one day.

But did he really want to come back to 4 Privet Drive and the Dursleys? If he had to be honest, the answer was a resounding no. Even though his aunt and uncle had – albeit grudgingly – given him a roof over his head and _some_ food to eat, this wasn't a home. While they weren't as extreme as to physically hurt him themselves, they had made him their slave, as well as turning a blind eye to Dudley's 'Harry Hunting', a game which involved catching Harry and hitting him repeatedly.

So if the answer was a 'No', he had to find a new place to live. Preferably somewhere in the wizarding world, he supposed, as the police would ask too many questions about why he was trying to find a new home if he left for another place in the non-magical world. Real estate would probably be quite pricey, though, so he'd probably see if he could find somewhere cheap to stay for a month or so until he could go to Hogwarts. But to do that, he needed money first, and he could only get that at Gringotts.

Finally, after a while of thinking, a solution eventually presented itself to Harry. Tomorrow, he'd go to Gringotts to see if his parents or any relatives had left him any money. If there wasn't any money for him and nobody would take him in, he'd contact this Deputy Headmistress about his lack of money or school supplies and return to the Dursleys. If there was some money – a little would be enough – he'd leave the Dursleys and stay in the wizarding world.

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* * *

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The next day, a Saturday, dawned bright and sunny, putting everyone in the Dursley household in a good mood. By nine o'clock, Uncle Vernon had gone to London for a business meeting, Dudley had gone to meet up with his gang at the park and Harry had completed his morning chores. As a result, Aunt Petunia was in a good mood, so Harry decided to take his chances and ask now if he could go out for the day. Surprisingly, Aunt Petunia agreed and let him go.

Soon, after a journey on the Underground train, he arrived at Charing Cross Road, which was lined with modern-looking shops and buildings. He certainly couldn't spot any kind of pub anywhere, but eventually he noticed a small, grubby-looking pub with the sign 'The Leaky Cauldron' tucked between a large bookstore and a record shop, which people didn't seem to notice. In fact, their eyes slid from the bookstore to the record shop as if the pub didn't exist at all, and Harry got the feeling that only he could see it.

Harry entered the Leaky Cauldron. It was half-empty, which was slightly surprising considering that it was ten in the morning, and the people that _were_ present were mostly wearing cloaks, drunk and asleep. Many had several bottles partly full of some beer-like liquid in front of them, and occasionally someone would wake up, bleary-eyed, for a few seconds and reach for the bottle, before promptly falling back asleep. The barman, a bald man that looked like a toothless walnut, was wiping the counter.

"Hello there," the barman said, upon seeing Harry. "My name's Tom, and I'm the barman of the Leaky Cauldron. Are you looking for someone in particular?"

"No, I'm looking for a way to get to Diagon Alley," Harry said. "It's nice to meet you, Tom."

"Oh, are you buying your Hogwarts supplies?" Tom asked. "Muggleborn, are you? That's easy, then. Follow me and I'll help you get through." Tom put his cloth down on the counter and, beckoning Harry, went over to a backdoor. The door led into a tiny backyard, which was surrounded by a high brick wall and which only had a rubbish bin. Tom pulled out a long stick and, counting the bricks, tapped a specific one. Suddenly, the brick began to quiver, then a small hole appeared, which grew wider and wider.

A second later, they were facing an archway, which led onto a cobbled street lined with shops and buildings. Above the archway was a sign: Welcome to Diagon Alley. Harry stared at the sign for a few seconds, barely noticing Tom talking about the things you could buy in Diagon Alley. Finally, he turned around, said goodbye to Tom, and went through the gateway. He was finally here in Diagon Alley, where he was about to find out whether or not he would have to return to the Dursleys.

He quickly entered the alley and, looking back, found the archway had turned into brick wall again. But looking forward, he saw that the sun was shining on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop, which had a sign saying, 'Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver – Self-Stirring – Collapsible' hanging over them. They gleamed brightly, and, remembering his list, Harry wanted to buy one first so he wouldn't have to come back. But he had to get some money first, if there was any for him.

Diagon Alley was a fascinating place, as Harry found out within three minutes just by walking down the street. Witches and wizards strolled down the street, discussing prices of various things. The alley itself was packed with shops full of weird and wonderful things Harry had never seen before. Children stood with their faces pressed against the window of Quality Quidditch, a shop, begging their parents to buy them the Nimbus 2000, the latest broomstick. "It's the fastest ever," Harry heard one child say.

Eventually, he finally reached the building that he was trying to get to – Gringotts. It was a large, snowy-white building, which towered over the other shops in Diagon Alley. To enter it, you had to pass through burnished bronze doors, which had a creature standing beside it in a uniform of scarlet and gold. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry, with long fingers and feet, a swarthy face and a pointed beard. He bowed as Harry walked up the stone steps and through the bronze doors.

Then Harry was faced with a pair of silver doors engraved with a warning about stealing. A pair of goblins bowed Harry through the silver doors, and then Harry found himself in a vast marble hall. There was a long counter down one side of the hall, with about a hundred goblins sitting on high stools behind it, who were writing in large ledgers, weighing coins, examining precious stones and so on. Many doors led off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these.

Heading for the counter, he found a free goblin and stood before him, wondering what to say when the goblin looked up and noticed him. "What do you want, wizard?"

"I'm here to see if my parents left me any money when they died," Harry said. "My name is Harrison Potter, but I usually go by Harry Potter."

The goblin stared at him for a few moments, then took a piece of paper – well, whatever type of paper it was that his envelope and letter had been made from – and wrote something on it before dropping it into a box. "I've told the Potter Account Manager you're here," the goblin said. "He'll send someone to take you to him." The goblin stared at Harry's forehead, where his lightning-shaped scar was, for a few more seconds before continuing to write in the ledger he had been writing in before he noticed Harry.

After a few moments, another goblin came up to Harry and said, "Are you Mr. Harrison Potter?" When Harry nodded in the affirmative, the goblin went on, "I'm Griphook, and I've been sent by the Potter Account Manager, Stoneclaw, to take you to him. Follow me." He glanced at Harry's scar – Harry was beginning to wonder why people, well, goblins, always looked at his scar first – before turning around and beckoning Harry to follow him into the depths of Gringotts.

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* * *

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At twelve o'clock noon, Harry finally emerged from Gringotts. His meeting hadn't gone especially well, but it _had_ gone better than Harry expected it to be when Harry first saw Stoneclaw's expression. Stoneclaw had turned out to be a goblin that was about half a head shorter than Harry, although he was dressed in a business suit like the ones that Uncle Vernon wore. As soon as Griphook had shown Harry down – by riding a fast-moving cart down – he knocked on the door politely, shown Harry in and left.

As soon as he walked in, Harry immediately got the impression that Stoneclaw wasn't pleased with him, and it wasn't his fault! Firstly, Harry had to do a blood test to confirm his identity – just in case someone was pretending to be him so they could steal from the Potter vaults. Then, Harry and Stoneclaw sat down to 'have a little chat', which basically consisted of Stoneclaw asking questions about Harry's disappearance from the wizarding world, and Harry trying to answer them (and often failing).

After those questions were over, the two started discussing finances. First, Harry was given an overview of the Potter accounts. It turned out that the Potter family was quite rich, and held two large vaults and one trust vault (for Harry) in Gringotts. However, the majority of their wealth was in investments and businesses, both in the Muggle – the word that wizarding folk used to describe 'non-magical folk' in Britain – and the wizarding worlds. The Potter family also had several properties around the world.

However, not everything was all rosy for the Potter family financial-wise. The vaults had been inactive for a decade, meaning that they had to update everything. Added to that, Harry was furious to learn that almost half a million Galleons had been stolen from him by a man named Albus Dumbledore, who was Hogwarts' Headmaster, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump and had claimed magical guardianship of Harry. The last one meant he could effectively steal money from Harry to 'use for his care'.

Harry immediately wanted to pull back all the money, but Stoneclaw convinced him that wouldn't be wise and let him know the 'jig was up', to use a Muggle phrase. Instead, they would keep track of the money, and next time Dumbledore came in and took more money from Harry, the goblins would put tracking charms on them. That meant they could see where all the money was going. When they found out, they could then have a chat with Dumbledore, and then see what would happen next.

Once the overview was finished, Stoneclaw told Harry a little about the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter when he found out that Harry knew nothing about his heritage. The Potter family had existed for many centuries, and were descended from one of the twelve knights of King Arthur's Round Table that were left after Lancelot betrayed King Arthur and left. That meant there were only eleven other families that were just as old as the House of Potter, all Noble and Most Ancient Houses, known as the Twelve.

Harry also learned that while he could become the Head of House Potter when he turned eleven, he couldn't become the Lord Potter until he came of age or was emancipated earlier. For now, though, he was officially 'Heir Apparent Potter', as he was the last of the main Potter line. This topic was discussed and finished within fifteen minutes, as it was pretty simple and there wasn't much to talk about. However, the next topic took a while: a betrothal.

"A _what_?" Harry said, trying to make sure he heard clearly. "A _betrothal_? Who could I be betrothed to?"

"A Miss Daphne Isabel Greengrass, who is the Heiress of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass," Stoneclaw said. "She is a fine match for you, lineage-wise."

"How can I be betrothed?" Harry asked. "The last time we met, if we ever did meet, we were _babies_!"

"Well, I heard this story from my predecessor, who heard it from his, so it might be a little different," Stoneclaw said, sighing. "But the gist is that in the 1910s, there was a Muggle war, which the Potters and the Greengrasses were involved in. As a result, the two Houses were nearly wiped out. So the current Lords Potter and Greengrass decided that if there was ever a time when the main line of either House had no sons, the Heir Apparent and the daughter closest to the Heir Apparent's age would become betrothed."

Seeing Harry's expression, Stoneclaw decided to move on to another topic and let him internalise it first. After the meeting was over, Stoneclaw called for Griphook again by writing something on a piece of parchment – he learned that was what the wizarding world's 'paper' was called – and dropping it into a box, like the goblin teller behind the counter had done to tell Stoneclaw that Harry was here. When Griphook arrived, he told Griphook to show Harry to his trust vault and let him take some money out.

However, before he let Harry go, Stoneclaw gave Harry two envelopes which both had 'To Harry' written on them and explained those were letters from his parents that had appeared on his desk magically the night they died. "They should also explain about the betrothal," Stoneclaw said. "Your parents were very smart people. They knew that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was hunting them, and that there was a chance they would be killed. They wanted to leave you a message in case they died." Harry just nodded.

Harry and Griphook rode, yet again, in a cart down to his trust vault. Griphook explained that as this was just a trust vault, it wasn't as far down as the two main Potter vaults were and anyway, he wasn't allowed into the main vaults unless he was of age or was accompanied by the Lord Potter. However, Harry was fine with his trust vault, which was supposed to contain five hundred thousand Galleons but now only contained a hundred thousand due to Dumbledore's stealing (he could only access Harry's trust vault).

There, he picked up a thousand Galleons, which he then stored into a coin pouch that Griphook gave him. "It's part of the standard banking procedure," Griphook said. "The first time you come in to pick money up, we give you a coin pouch. It's 'wizard-spaced', by the way, meaning that it can hold more things that it's supposed to, so you can fit a maximum of two thousand Galleons inside. If you lose this coin pouch, however, you can either buy one from us or buy one yourself somewhere else."

Then, Griphook returned him to Stoneclaw's office. Stoneclaw then stepped Harry through the steps he was required to do so he could blood-lock it to himself, before then giving him a copy of all the bank statements Harry _should_ have received. Stoneclaw shrunk them so a finger tap could undo the shrinking and gave them to Harry so to put in his coin pouch. According to Stoneclaw, he couldn't give Harry a copy of his full financial holdings, as he was only allowed to get it three weeks after Harry turned eleven.

Once he exited Gringotts, he stood nearby and took a look at his booklist to see what supplies might be there. Textbooks featured prominently on the list, and he thought it might be nice to be able to both finish buying his textbooks _and_ learn a little more about the wizarding world, through books. So, he decided that he would go to the bookshop first. After asking someone for directions, he was able to make his way to the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts, without any trouble.

Upon entering Flourish and Blotts, he asked an available sales assistant if she could help him find his Hogwarts textbooks for first year. Setting aside what she was doing for the moment – reading a book – she took him to an aisle near the counter. "These are the necessary Hogwarts textbooks, sorted from first year to seventh. There are some previous years' textbooks here as well, especially for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Will that be all?"

"Thank you," Harry said, "but I'm afraid not. You see, I'm new to the wizarding world, so I'd like to find out more information through books. Could you possible show me where I can find books relating to introduction to the magical world; information about the Houses; etiquette in the wizarding world; general information that most people know already and is considered basic information; mind magics and possibly some books about the government?"

"Of course, I can show you around," the sales assistant said, who then proceeded to show Harry to the relevant sections, where he collected books that he felt might be useful or necessary. After all, he had the gold, so why not buy some books? Then, the sales assistant showed Harry a section with his name on it, to his surprise. Glancing at the bookshelves, he could tell that these were fiction adventures with him as the main character, or books that supposedly had all the facts about the night his parents died.

"This is our current Book-of-the-Month," the sales assistant said, proudly pointing to a book which stood on top of a pedestal in the middle of the section. It was titled _Harry Potter: The Boy-Who-Lived_. "It's a very popular book, with record-breaking sales from the moment it was published. It's a true recollection of the days and important events leading up to that night, that night in detail and the aftermath of the next few days. Would you like to buy a copy?" Clearly, she hadn't recognised Harry.

"Yes, I suppose so," Harry said, taking a copy of _Harry Potter: The Boy-Who-Lived_ as well as several other _Harry Potter_ books. He didn't necessarily want to relive that night, but at least he could see what was so interesting about him, and why he was called the 'Boy-Who-Lived' and why people kept looking at his scar. He headed back to the assistant, who had produced a book basket for him to put his books in. Then, he went back to collect his Hogwarts textbooks, before queuing up to pay for his books.

Once the assistant at the counter had finished ringing up Harry's books, Harry was surprised that books cost quite a lot: fifty Galleons, meaning that it was nearly two hundred and fifty pounds. But, he _had_ bought quite a lot of books, so maybe it wasn't that surprising. Once Harry had paid with fifty gold coins, the assistant at the counter put them into two large boxes and shrunk the boxes. "You can unshrink them by waving your wand over them and saying ' _Finite Incantatem_ '," the assistant said when Harry asked.

Harry then put the two shrunken packages into one of his pockets, before deciding that he should eat lunch. His stomach was rumbling and, according to a charm that showed the time, which someone showed Harry when Harry asked for the time, it was nearly one o'clock and he hadn't eaten much at breakfast, as Dudley and Vernon had eaten more than they usually did today. Harry only had had one slice of toast with a scraping of butter, which was less than he usually got.

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* * *

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Once he finished his lunch, Harry took a few minutes to decide what he needed to buy next. After a few moments of deliberation, he decided on going to a shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to buy some new outfits so he didn't have to keep walking around in Dudley's hand-me-downs. There were already quite a lot of people staring at him, probably because he wasn't wearing those robes that wizarding folk all seemed to wear, as well as the fact that they were clearly too big for him.

When Harry walked inside, he found a rather large shop completely full of clothing, both Muggle and magical. After a few minutes of standing there, two women appeared, one laden down with shopping bags, who promptly waved goodbye to the other and left. The second woman, who was dressed in mauve and had blue eyes and white hair – she seemed quite old, although rather spry – in a bun, approached Harry. "Hello, dearie," she said. "I'm Madam Malkin. Are you here for your Hogwarts robes?"

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said. "However, I would also like to purchase other clothing, both Muggle and magical, but mostly magical."

"I can help you with that," Madam Malkin said. "But we should sort out your Hogwarts robes first." She led Harry over to a tall stool, and gestured for him to stand on it, which he did. "Feet slightly apart and arms together, please." Harry obeyed, and watched as a clearly magical tape measure did the work, while a quill wrote by itself on a piece of floating parchment. When both stopped, Madam Malkin gestured for a rack of Hogwarts uniforms that seemed to be about the same size as clothes that would fit Harry.

She pulled a set of plain black robes out and, slipping it over Harry's head, began to pin it to the right length. "I'll be done in a jiffy, and then you can either wait here or you can come back in half-an-hour or so for these robes once I'm done fitting you," Madam Malkin said. "Of course, if you're buying other clothes as well, as you said you want to, my sales assistant can probably finish your robes in time for you to pay for them at the same time as your other clothing."

When Madam Malkin was done, she gestured for Harry to get off the stool and handed the robes to her sales assistant. "Adjust this please, dear," she said, before turning to Harry. "Now, what sort of clothing were you thinking of buying? Formal, semi-formal or informal? Ones to wear at home or outdoor ones? Do you need wish to have your clothes made of special materials? What colours would you like? Looking at you, I think greens and blues, or pastel colours, would do nicely. Dark reds to contrast, maybe."

"Everything, ma'am," Harry said. "Treat it as if I've lost all my clothes in a house fire except for these clothes, and these are damaged beyond repair. Underwear, robes, pants, shirts, belts, shoes, socks, jackets. For Muggle clothing, I just need informal clothing, but for robes, I could do with formal, semi-formal and informal. Oh, plus my Hogwarts robes, of course, but you've already measured me for that, so I don't really need to mention it. I also don't really care about the price, as long as the quality is good."

"Well, then we'll have to get started," Madam Malkin said, smiling. "I think that you're going to be spending quite a lot of time here."

What followed was a good few hours of Harry constantly trying different clothes, changing styles, items and colours to suit his liking. He tried on formal, semi-formal and informal robes, long- and short-sleeved shirts, T-shirts, trousers, jeans, shorts, jackets, belts, trainers, boots, socks, other accessories and everything he could possibly need or want. Eventually, he bought quite a lot of the items he had tried on, counting himself lucky that Mafdam Malkin didn't notice his scar, which was covered up by his hair.

While Madam Malkin was calculating the cost of his new attire – which ended up costing around 200 Galleons – Harry asked her if there was a place where he could stay in Diagon Alley for a few days. She suggested the Leaky Cauldron, the pub which Harry had come through from Charing Cross into Diagon Alley, as it was quite cheap and convenient, so Harry decided to take her advice. She then packaged up his clothes, before shrinking them. Again, _Finite Incantatem_ could return them to their original size.

Next, he decided to buy his wand. Considering that all his newly-bought possessions were shrunk and could only be reversed by _Finite Incantatem_ , which required a wand, and he needed a wand to go back and forth between the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley, a wand was an immediate necessity. Plus, he needed one for Hogwarts, and for basic things such as telling the time, as there seemed to be no clocks whatsoever in any shop in Diagon Alley, nor in any establishment.

But since he hadn't passed a shop that sold wands yet, he decided to ask someone and save time by not wandering up and down in search of a wand shop. So after stopping a wizard on the street and asking where he could buy a wand, he headed straight for a shop that the wizard had called 'Ollivanders'. "Best shop in the world if you're looking for a wand, Ollivanders is," the wizard said gruffly, and proceeded to give him directions. Harry thanked him and set off to find the wand shop.

Harry soon found 'Ollivanders', as the wizard called it. It was a narrow and shabby shop, which read on the sign over the door in peeling gold letters: 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C.'. It was grey, and although people passed by it constantly and it was situated in a crowded alley, there seemed to be a layer of dust over the shop itself, if that was possible. The window display consisted of a single wand on a faded purple cushion, and as Harry entered, a tinkling bell rang somewhere in the shop.

The inside of the shop was rather empty, although the air and silence seemed to tingle with some ancient, strange and forgotten magic. There were thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly up to the ceiling and a single spindly chair in the shop, but apart from that, there was nothing else. A thin layer of dust lay over everything, just like the outside seemed to. Harry sat down on the spindly chair to wait for Mr. Ollivander to arrive, the back of his neck prickling with the strange magic.

"Good afternoon," a soft voice came from the back of the shop. Harry jumped up from the chair as an old man, who was presumably Mr. Ollivander, approached, with wide, pale eyes that shone like moons through the gloomy shop. "Ah, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." Mr. Ollivander moved closer, his pale eyes unblinking, which began to creep Harry out. He began to tell Harry about his parents' wands, and the day his parents came in to get their first wands.

Then, when he was done, he pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"

"I'm right-handed, sir," Harry said, holding his right arm out. The tape measure started measuring by itself from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head, without the help of Mr. Ollivander – who, Harry realised, was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes and piling them on the floor.

As he flitted around the shelves, Mr. Ollivander said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." He picked a box up from the pile on the floor. "Try this, Mr. Potter. Beechwood and dragon heartstring, nine inches. Just wave it."

Feeling rather foolish, Harry did so, but he had barely waved it before Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand. "No, no, that won't do," he said. "Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy." Harry tried it, but again, had barely waved it before it was snatched out of his hand. "No, no, try this. Ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy." Harry tried that. "No, what about this? Yew and dragon heartstring, ten inches, nice and supple." Harry tried that. And the next. And the next.

Over the next half-an-hour or so, Harry tried many different wands. They were made of different woods: beechwood, alder, yew, ebony, maple and so on; and had different cores: unicorn, phoenix tail feathers, dragon heartstring and rarer types. The pile of wands that Harry had tried grew higher and higher, while the stack of untried wands dwindled rapidly, as Harry was trying wands as fast as Mr. Ollivander could pull new ones from the shelves for him to try.

Eventually, he pulled a box down and said, "Ah, yes, why not? It's an unusual combination – holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Harry tried that, but managed to set the spindly chair on fire with it instead. Mr. Ollivander put the fire out with his own wand, before taking the wand Harry was trying back. "No, no, clearly not. Strange, Dumbledore thought that might be yours. I don't know why he thinks he's an expert in wandlore or why he's taking an interest in your wand, but there you go."

By now, the pile of untried wands was reduced to one wand. "Ah, try this one, then. It's a special one, if I say so myself. Elder and thunderbird feather, eleven inches, not too flexible but not too rigid either." As Harry took the wand, a strange, warm feeling came down his arm and into his fingers. He raised the wand above his head and swished it through the dusty air, causing red sparks to shoot from the end. "Bravo!" Mr. Ollivander cried, clapping his hands. "But curious, curious. Do you know what your wand means?"

"No," Harry said. "Could you explain then, Mr. Ollivander?"

"Elder wands are special," Mr. Ollivander began. "They contain powerful magic inside them, and are the hardest type of wand to master. It takes a very remarkable and unusual wizard to find a perfect match in them, let alone keep or master an elder wand. When such a pairing occurs, it may be taken as certain the person in question is marked out for a special destiny. Thunderbird feathers contain power in them too, so I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Potter, great things indeed."

"Thank you, Harry said, as he paid seven Galleons for the wand – so about thirty-five pounds – and five Galleons for a wand Holster. Clutching the wand, he then exited the shop gladly, as he didn't like it very much. It gave him the shivers, with all the magic that tingled in the air, as well as Mr. Ollivander's pale, unblinking eyes staring straight at him, almost as if he could see into Harry's mind. Harry then headed straight for a trunk shop, as he wanted to put everything down in one trunk instead of carrying it around.

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* * *

.

'Lucky Luggage' was the name of the luggage shop that Harry found nearby in Diagon Alley, which had been painted a mint green. Gold lettering announced the name to all, and below it in slightly smaller letters, 'Maker of Exquisite Trunks Since 1830 B.C.' had been written in similar gold lettering. In the window, a brown trunk was open, with a piece of cardboard saying, 'SCHOOL SALE: 20% OFF ON HOGWARTS TRUNKS (Applicable to everyone)' propped on it. Harry decided to enter.

The moment Harry stepped in, he was greeted by the owner of the shop, a slightly plump man with brown hair and eyes. "Hello," the owner said. "My name is Mr. Porter, and I'm the owner of this shop. Are you here for a Hogwarts trunk, or are you here for something else? We have many types, colours and styles in here, so I'm sure we can find one that tweaks your fancy. If not, you can always get one custom-made if you're willing to pay more gold and wait a little longer, of course."

"I'm just looking for a trunk," Harry said. "But I don't just want the basic, or standard, student type as I need one that's slightly larger."

"We can do that," Mr. Porter said, nodding. "If you don't just want a normal one, we have mokeskin-lined trunks, meaning they're 'wizard-spaced'. Would you prefer that type, then? Then, you can buy the 'normal' type, which can hold twice as much as it looks from the outside and has many compartments. Do you need one for Hogwarts, or do you just need one to store things? We also have the 'roomy', 'large', 'grand' and 'premium' type, which all have rooms inside. Would you prefer one of _those_?"

"I might," Harry said. "How are those trunks with rooms like? They're definitely 'wizard-spaced', so they should have enough space for what I want to fit inside."

"Well, the 'roomy' type is like a normal trunk, but with one room inside," Mr. Porter said. "The 'large type' has three rooms inside instead of one. The 'grand' type has a two-bedroom apartment inside it, along with some compartments like the 'normal' type on top, making it look like a normal trunk from above. The 'premium' type has a three-bedroom apartment inside instead of a two-bedroom one. And yes, the last two are 'wizard-spaced' like you wouldn't believe."

"Do they come with safety features or any recognisable marks?" Harry asked.

"Yes, of course," Mr. Porter said. "We can help fit safety features on it, which can suit your preferences. The trunks can also be in different colours according to your liking, and you can have your name and family crest printed onto the top of the trunk so it's easily recognisable. I'll step you through those once you choose the type of trunk you want, and then select the trunk you want from our selection. What type would you like?"

"I think the 'grand' type would suit me best," Harry said. "An apartment to myself would be nice. Does it come with furniture?"

"Yes," Mr. Porter said. "But if you don't want furniture, it'll be cheaper than it currently is. Probably about sixty percent of the current price, I'd suppose, so... one fifty Galleons? We're having a sale, that's why it's so cheap. The total, with the furniture, is two fifty Galleons. Without the extra features like adding more rooms, that is. Those cost more money, as it has to be specially changed for you, and it takes time, especially with 'wizard-spaced' things."

"I'll take the 'grand' type, but I want the furniture," Harry decided. "I don't want extra rooms, though." Grinning, Mr. Porter led Harry to a section marked 'Wizard-Spaced: Grand' where an array of trunks sat on displays. There were black ones, brown ones, grey ones, silver ones and white ones, all quite beautiful. But Harry felt his eyes drawn to a black one with silver decorations that was at the end of the line. "I'd like that one, please," he said, pointing to the trunk he was drawn to.

"Very well," Mr. Porter said. "Would you like any features? The only one that costs extra is the extra rooms, but as you've already said you don't want extra rooms, the cost will still be two-fifty no matter what you decide. I've told you how you can change its looks, but we can charm them to be Featherlight, Self-Locking or Self-Levitating permanently, which will be deactivated by pressing on an embedded rune stone. We can also change the type of lock if your dissatisfied with the standard type and fit wheels onto one end."

"I'll have it charmed to be Featherlight," Harry decided. "I like the colour, and I think I'll get wheels– wait, is there a levitating spell?"

"Yes, of course," Mr. Porter said. "Swish and flick your wand, and say ' _Wingardium Leviosa_ ' while pointing your wand at the trunk. It would be much easier than dragging your trunk around, especially as it's just going to sit in your Hogwarts dorm room for the majority of the year. What about your lock? There are four types of locks: the standard, which is unlocked with a key, a lock that requires your fingerprint, a lock that has a number password, and a lock that answers to your voice."

"I'll have the lock that answers to my fingerprint only," Harry said. "Or could I get a lock that answers to my fingerprint _or_ my voice?"

"Yes, if you want to pay five Galleons extra," Mr. Porter said. "What's your name, and would you like your family crest printed?"

"I _would_ , but can you keep a secret? I'd appreciate it if you didn't let everyone know that I was here," Harry said. "I'll have the lock that answers to my fingerprint, by the way."

"Of course," Mr. Porter said. "Are you ashamed of your name because your parents chose a name from the seventeenth century or something?"

"No," Harry replied. "My name is Harrison 'Harry' Potter, and I'm told that I'm supposedly the famous Boy-Who-Lived or some such nonsense, according to the many books I found with my name on them written about in the books, in Flourish and Blotts. Just call me Mr. Evans, please. Henry Evans, if you must say my full name for any reason."

Mr. Porter's eyes widened. "Well," he said after a while. "That's quite a surprise, having Harry Potter in my shop. But of course, I'll keep your secret. Would you still like to have your name and family crest printed? I can always cast a Notice-Me-Not over the area, which can be undone by a simple ' _Finite Incantatem_ '. But may I suggest that you either buy a hat or cast a simple glamour to hide your scar if you don't want to be recognised? You can find out how by reading a few books in Flourish and Blotts."

"Thank you, I'd like the Notice-Me-Not," Harry said. "When can I come back to pick my trunk up, and should I pay now or later?"

"You can come back tomorrow morning," Mr. Porter said. "Tomorrow morning, any time after eight in the morning. Just pay one hundred Galleons now, and you can pay me the next one hundred and fifty tomorrow when you come to pick up your trunk. Of course, I can always deliver it to you instead, but the 'shipping fee' is 2 Galleons." He produced a piece of parchment and a quill from his pocket. "Fill this in if you want me to deliver it instead, and then sign it at the bottom and give me the money."

"I'll just come back and pick it up tomorrow," Harry replied. "But thanks, anyway." He handed one hundred Galleons to Mister Porter, before exiting the shop.

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* * *

.

Once Harry arrived back at the Leaky Cauldron – he decided that he should call it a day on shopping, as it was already five in the afternoon – he managed to get a room under the name 'Henry Evans'. Harry was surprised the old bartender didn't ask any questions, just gave him a room and ran through a well-rehearsed spiel about the available facilities. Then he produced a room key, handed it to Harry and said, "Don't lose this key, or it's 10 Galleons. You've got Room 12, on the first floor."

Harry thanked Tom and took the key. He then went upstairs to drop his packages off and unshrink them before coming back downstairs again.

"Is the room alright, Mr. Evans, or are you unsatisfied?" Tom asked as soon as he saw Harry.

"The room's fine, thank you," Harry said. "I just need to make a phone call to someone in the Muggle world, and I was wondering if you've got a Muggle phone."

"Here you go," Tom said, producing a phone from under the counter. "This one should work, but you've got to step out of the Leaky Cauldron to the Muggle side to use it, or it won't work properly. Something about how there's no 'phone signal' or something in the Leaky Cauldron or Diagon Alley, and it won't work anyway because it's 'elktronic' and the magic affects it." Harry took it and crossed the Leaky Cauldron to the 'Muggle' side of it, and stepped out of the door

He then dialed the Dursleys' phone number, and Aunt Petunia picked up. Before she could say anything, though, Harry immediately said everything he needed to. "Hello, Aunt Petunia. I've decided to run away and, as I've found somewhere else to live, I won't be returning. Do what you like with my possessions in my cupboard, I've got new ones anyway." Then, as he heard Aunt Petunia start to scream, he hung up and walked back inside, giving the phone back to Tom.

Afterwards, he headed up to his room to change into basic, black, informal wizard robes that he had bought today in Madam Malkin's shop. He then put his wand, his money pouch, his copy of _An Introduction to the Wizarding World_ and the two envelopes which Stoneclaw had given him into his pockets. As it was nearing six o'clock, according to what Tom said, it was dinnertime, so he could read his book and the two letters while eating. He ordered some dinner, before sitting down at a table.

As the food still wasn't ready – when it was, Tom would shout the number of your order (the number depended on the order that people bought their food in) and you'd go to get it from the counter – Harry decided to start reading his letters first. He picked up one of them – he didn't choose it for some reason, he simply picked it because it was the first one that he could reach – and opened it. It read:

 _Dearest Harry,_

 _I hope by the time you read this then you're a happy, healthy boy under the care of either your godmother and her husband, Lord Franklin 'Frank' and Lady Alice Longbottom, or your godfather and his wife – if he chooses to marry – Lord Sirius Black and the future Lady Black. If they weren't able to take you in, hopefully you've grown up with Lord Cygnus and Lady Isabel Greengrass, or Lady Amelia Bones and her husband if she chooses to marry. At least one of them should have been able to take you in._

 _But no matter who you've grown up with, as long as they're in the aforementioned list, I hope that your life has been a happy one so far and that it'll continue to be a happy one for the rest of your life. By the time you're reading this, you should be about eleven and about to start your first year at Hogwarts in a month or so, so I hope you're ready for Hogwarts. It's a wonderful place, by the way, and not just because of the magic – it's also because of the people._

 _Now, you've probably heard about your betrothal, which Stoneclaw – or his replacement as the Potter Account Manager, if there's been one since I died – should have told you a little about. Yes, you really are betrothed to Miss Daphne Greengrass, Heiress Presumptive of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass. This should be a good match, as our families have been quite close friends over the centuries both Houses have existed. But, I'll explain it anyway in case Stoneclaw hasn't told you 'why'._

 _A few generations ago, there was a huge Muggle war – World War I – in which the Potters and Greengrasses were heavily involved in, as both Houses had business relations, investments and dealings in the Muggle world. As a result, both were nearly wiped out. So Lord Henry Potter and Lord Samuel Greengrass, the Lords of the Houses at that time, decided that in the case that either of the Houses didn't have a male heir to carry on the name, a betrothal would come into play._

 _This betrothal basically stated that in the case of that happening, the Heir Apparent of one House – the one with a son – and the daughter closest to the Heir Apparent's age would become betrothed in an unbreakable contract. This is you and Daphne, as the Greengrasses do not have a male heir and will never have one in Daphne's generation. The reason I know this is because Lady Isabel Greengrass is pregnant with a female child, and the Healers have said that it will be too risky to have another child after this one._

 _I'm sorry if you feel like you are 'trapped' in this contract, due to the fact that it is unbreakable. But if Daphne is anything like her mother – looks or personality-wise, as her mother is quite smart and very friendly to all, as is her father – then hopefully you might be a little happier. I don't know how she's like at the moment – this letter was written in 1981 – but I hope she's nice to you and you're at least friends. I know you two will grow up to do powerful things together, and continue to make both your Houses proud._

 _I'd also like to explain a little about the Potter family. This is also not to be public information, but private information that is given out_ only _on a need-to-know basis. The House of Potter is descended from the House of Peverell, which has long gone extinct in the male line due to a lack of male descendants. The eldest brother, Antioch, was murdered; the second brother, Cadmus, had a daughter who married into the House of Gaunt; and the last brother, Ignotus, had a granddaughter who married into the House of Potter._

 _You should know why this is important, as you've probably read 'The Tale of the Three Brothers' by Beedle the Bard. But if you haven't, well, I suppose you should read it quickly. You'll figure out why it's important, as that information is too delicate to write down. If you really can't figure it out, even after a long time of thinking, you should go and ask either Stoneclaw – or his replacement, if he's got one – or whoever's your guardian now that your father and I are dead._

 _But remember, your father and I will always love you, even from the afterlife. We may be gone physically, but we're still with you spiritually. If you ever get stuck in a dark time, think of us and we'll guide you to the right way. Remember, always do what is right, not what is easy._

 _Lady Lily Jane Potter of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter (Mum)_

Harry stared at the letter for a while before opening the next one. At least he _knew_ for sure that he wasn't supposed to go to the Dursleys – instead, Dumbledore had dumped him there on the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive, without even knocking on the Dursleys' door. No, he put a letter in with Harry, and expected them to keep him based on what he wrote in a _letter_! At least they weren't his guardians anymore. The next one read:

 _Hey Prongslet (that's your Marauder name!)_

 _If you're reading this, that means I was killed – probably in the war – before you were eleven. And if I'm dead and died in the war, that probably means your Mum's dead as well, or you probably wouldn't be reading this letter and anyway, she'd want to get 'revenge' on whoever killed me, even if she died herself. I'm sorry we weren't there for you as you grew up, but I hope you have had a happy life so far with any of the people we designated to be your guardians in case we died._

 _Oh, that reminds me. If I was killed, my will's probably been activated, but as you're probably not of age or have been emancipated yet, you probably won't have had a chance to read my will or your Mum's will. Anyway, the main gist of it is that everything we have goes to you, with the exception of a few thousand Galleons or so that we've bequeathed to our friends. There's also a list of people who are supposed to take care of you, and people who are NOT, under any circumstances, allowed to take you._

 _The people that are on the list (in order) that are supposed to take care of you are:_

 _– Lord Franklin 'Frank' and Lady Alice Longbottom – Alice is your sworn godmother, as your mother is the sworn godmother of the Longbottoms' son, Neville Longbottom. They are both responsible people, as is Frank's mother, a formidable woman named Augusta Longbottom, who is a widow. If Frank and Alice are somehow incapable of taking care of you but are your guardians, the guardianship should temporarily transfer to Augusta. She will look after you well, we know._

 _– Heir Apparent Sirius Orion Black – he could be Lord Sirius Black the Third by now, as the current Lord Black is getting quite old and Sirius is the last male left of the Black line. I campaigned hard against your mother to put Sirius first on the list, as he's your sworn godfather, but your mother overruled me, saying that Sirius is far too immature. While I know Sirius would take responsibility if he was forced to, sadly, I must agree with your mother._

 _– Lord Cygnus and Lady Isabel Greengrass – Close friends, although we were in different Hogwarts Houses. Cygnus and I became close after we graduated from Hogwarts and immediately signed up to be Aurors, while your mother and Isabel grew close as both were aiming to get their Charms Master's Degrees together, under Professor Filius Flitwick, who is the Charms Professor and Head of Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. You're also betrothed to their eldest daughter, Daphne._

 _– Lady Amelia Susan Bones – A close friend from within the DMLE, and a very good Auror too. She's a couple of years older than us, but is already rising through the ranks as fast as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if she's currently the Head of the DMLE, she's_ that _good at her job. Her niece, Susan Bones, was also part of the circle of children you used to play with. The group included Daphne, Neville, Tracey Davis, Hannah Abbott and Luna Lovegood._

 _Now, onto the topic of Luna Lovegood. She's the Heiress Apparent of the Ancient House of Lovegood, and the only daughter of Xenophilius and Maya Lovegood. She's born on September 2nd, 1980, which means she missed the cut for your Hogwarts year by one day. But, your mother and I, along with the Longbottoms, the Greengrasses and the Blacks – all Noble and Most Ancient Houses, and we're Four of the Twelve – wrote a letter to the School Board, asking if Luna could be in the same year as you. They agreed!_

 _Next, the topic of the betrothal. Your mother's most likely told you already, but anyway, the gist is that the Potters and the Greengrasses were nearly wiped out, so the two Lords of the Houses of Potter and Greengrass at the time decided to write an unbreakable betrothal contract. If either House didn't have a male heir, the Heir Apparent and the daughter closest to his age would be betrothed, to marry when the Heir was of age (don't worry, Daphne's only a week older than you, as her birthday's on July 24th)._

 _You also have to learn about the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter. We're allied with the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Longbottom, Black and Greengrass, as well as the Noble and Ancient House of Bones. Longbottom and Bones are 'Light' Houses, while Greengrass is a 'Grey' House and Black is a 'Dark' House. Please be careful with the House of Black, especially, as there are many members that it would be a pleasure never to meet (especially Bellatrix Lestrange, neé Black)._

 _I also hope you've been playing plenty of pranks – especially on Sirius – and continue to be a mini-Marauder. But, I also hope you've been training and studying hard to get ready for Hogwarts and for taking your rightful place in wizarding society. Remember, we'll always love you, no matter where we are, and we'll be watching over you from the afterlife. I hope you have a long and happy life with Daphne, and have lots of children of your own._

 _Love from your Dad_

Once Harry was done reading, he sat there for a while, thinking about them, before putting them back in their envelopes and setting them aside. When his food was ready, he got the food – sandwiches and a drink called 'butterbeer' – and started reading _An Introduction to the Wizarding World_ while eating. When he noticed that everyone who wasn't drunk and slumped on the tables was disappearing, he put everything back into his pockets and made his way back to his room, which was surprisingly comfortable.

Once he arrived back in his room, he took a quick shower, before lying on his bed. He organised his memories of the day, creating new sections within his mind. He re-labeled the 'Strange' section, calling it 'Magic', and put all his memories of the day into the newly-labeled 'Magic' section. In the 'Magic' section, he created more categories, organising it by time. Then he reviewed his mental to-do list, before quickly falling fast asleep – his first night in a proper bed that wasn't stuck under the cupboard, like at the Dursleys'.

.

* * *

Hey guys!

I'm Shadow of the Blue Moon. What do you think about this fanfic? Is it too long (not all the chapters will be as long as this one)? Do you like how it's going? Do you want anything to be different? Please review, follow and favourite, and I'll hopefully be posting my next chapter soon! (Note from August 21, 2018: I've edited this so the storyline is slightly different, but the main parts are still the same.)

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 10,400


	2. School Shopping

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Two – School Shopping**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

The next morning, Harry rose at five-thirty in the morning, as that was the time he was used to waking up at. Aunt Petunia always woke him up at that time, so he could cook their breakfast for them and get to school on time. Then, he realised he wasn't at the Dursleys' and _never_ had to go back to the Dursleys', as he had run away, and now he was staying in the Leaky Cauldron. He lay in bed for ten more minutes, trying to get some more sleep – and then, as it clearly wasn't working, decided to get up.

After showering with warm water for as long as he liked – something he'd never been allowed to do at the Dursleys' – he went back to his room to dress in another set of robes. These ones, instead of being black like the ones he had worn yesterday, were green. According to Madam Malkin, they made his eyes stand out more, so hopefully people wouldn't be drawn to his scar. Then, putting on a black hat that covered his hair – and more importantly, his scar – and taking his book, he felt ready to go.

Slipping his wand into his wand holster, before attaching it to his left arm – it was going to take some time for him to learn to automatically draw it out when he needed it – he decided to make his way downstairs and see if there was any breakfast ready. But when he made his way down, he found Tom had just begun to make breakfast, so he'd need to wait a little. "'Morning, Mr. Evans," Tom said when he noticed Harry. "Breakfast's at seven to nine, as it's a Sunday, but I can rustle something up for you as you're early."

"It's alright, Tom," Harry said. He glanced around the bar for an empty table to take a seat at, although there didn't seem to be one. There were many tables with only one person there, who would most likely be unconscious for a few more hours. Bottles of Firewhisky – the wizarding world equivalent of alcohol – were in front of many people, although they weren't drinking them currently. Eventually, Harry decided to just sit down on an empty seat and sat down to wait while reading his book.

"What do you want for breakfast, Mr. Evans?" Tom called when he noticed Harry had sat down. "It's the standard fare. You can either eat it here or you can eat it in your room. If you're not too fussed about things like cleanliness, here should be fine. If you don't like to stay here – and they won't be awake for a few more hours, especially after last night's party – I'd suggest your room. Evangeline will bring it up." He nodded to a blond witch most likely in her twenties, who was cleaning glasses nearby.

"I'll have breakfast in my room, if that isn't any bother," Harry said, glancing around at the drunken people occupying the bar's many tables. "Could I possibly have a slice of toast with some butter, along with a rasher of bacon and some eggs? I'll drink Butterbeer, but if you've run out, just water will be fine. How much is all of that?"

"That'll be 10 Galleons," Tom said. "But that's alright. Evangeline, deliver it to this guy when I'm done making it. He's in Room 12." Evangeline nodded, and Harry paid Tom before going back to his room. After about twenty minutes, a knock on the door came. Harry rushed to open it for the person who wanted to enter, which turned out to be Evangeline with a breakfast tray, who placed it on a small table in his room. He thanked her, and gave her a silver Sickle as a tip.

Then, he continued reading _An Introduction to the Wizarding World_ – he had finished over half of the book by now, and had learned quite a lot about the 'basics' of the wizarding world – while eating his breakfast. His breakfast, while tasting nothing like the food at the Dursleys', was still surprisingly good. He finished it quickly, and while he wasn't that full, but wasn't that hungry either, decided against ordering even more. He could have a bigger lunch if necessary later.

.

* * *

.

After he had finished his breakfast and taken the tray back downstairs, Harry went back to Diagon Alley to finish his shopping. While he had finished the majority of his shopping and bought the most important things, being his trunk, books, clothing and wand, he still had to buy a Potions kit, a telescope and stationery. He also had to pick up his trunk from Lucky Luggage, and there were several items he wanted to buy, even if they weren't on the Hogwarts list, such as a bookbag and some new glasses.

After he found out what the time was – he asked Tom, who showed him the _Tempus_ Charm that told the time – he decided that he should wait for a while in his room. Mr. Porter said that 'any time after eight in the morning' was when he should pick his trunk up, meaning he still had to wait for about an hour. The shops probably weren't open yet, as it was a Sunday, so he finished reading _An Introduction to the Wizarding World_ while he was waiting. At seven-forty-five, he set off to Lucky Luggage.

When Harry entered Lucky Luggage, at exactly eight, Mr. Porter was already there. He was currently busy with some 'parchmentwork' – the wizarding equivalent of 'paperwork', as they didn't use paper – behind the counter. As Harry stepped into the shop, Mr. Porter looked up from his paperwork. "Ah, so you're back, Mr. Evans," he said. "Your trunk's ready, as I promised, and it's a real beauty too. Would you like to take a look here, or would you like to take it to wherever you're staying without looking at it first?"

"I think I'll have a look here," Harry said. "I don't know how to 'work' these trunks, and I'd appreciate a walk-through."

"Of course, Mr. Evans," Mr. Porter said. He quickly set his parchmentwork aside, laid his quill down and capped his ink bottle, before leading Harry over to the same section marked 'Wizard-Spaced: Grand'. It was the same section that Harry had chosen his trunk from yesterday, and he could see the one he had chosen, as it had a large red sign saying 'SOLD' in front of it, as well as several changes to how it looked yesterday, as it had a lock with a place to put your finger, instead of the standard lock.

"Now, the trunk is currently set to no fingerprint, and it's unlocked, but I'll show you how to lock it to yourself when we come out of the trunk," Mr. Porter said, opening Harry's trunk to reveal five compartments, all packed together and with black covers over each of them. However, there was one compartment which was already full, although it was small, which contained a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ , as well as a pot of ink. Mr. Porter tapped twice on the bottle of ink, and then thrice on the book

Immediately, the seven compartments began to squish together and a large hole opened with a staircase. "You've got to tap twice, then thrice, for it to work," Mr. Porter said when he saw Harry's questioning looks. "But don't worry, nothing will get broken, everything just gets shrunken and then it'll automatically get bigger when you come out, or when you decide to close the hole from inside your trunk, which I'll show you how to do later, once the 'tour' is done. Would you like to go in first?"

"Sure," Harry said, shrugging. He went down the steps, which led to a short hallway – lit with only one lamp – that ended at a sturdy brown door. It had a gold knocker in the shape of a lion, but as Mr. Porter explained, Harry could change it if he wasn't in Gryffindor to either an eagle, a badger or a snake by saying " _Changeo_ Badger" or whatever animal he wanted it to be. However, it would only work for those four animals. There was a black doormat under the carpet, which said 'Welcome' in swirly gold letters.

Mr. Porter then showed Harry where to touch his hand to and what to say, so the door would accept Harry and Harry _only_ as the rightful owner of the place. That meant only Harry could open the door now, and if anyone else tried, they would be immediately 'stunned' and Harry would be alerted. Mr. Porter then explained that 'stunned' meant they would be knocked unconscious by an automatic Stunning Spell, _Stupefy_ , and an alert ward that was keyed to Harry would be triggered.

Harry then opened the door to see a large living room, which was, according to Mr. Porter, 3.7 x 5.5 meters in size, or 12 x 18 feet. The room was carpeted in rich black carpeting that reached from wall to wall, and the ceiling was 'charmed' to match the outside sky of wherever the trunk was. As it was a nice, sunny day, the ceiling was a sky blue and had white, fluffy clouds drifting across it. The walls matched the ceiling, and were 'charmed' to match the sky as well.

On the wall to the right of the entrance door, there was a window seat which spanned half the wall, with a window that was charmed to match the outside of wherever the trunk was. On the walls either side of the window seat, there were several white sofas. Next to the door and one of the white sofas, there was a shoe cupboard with an empty picture frame hanging above it. Opposite the window seat was a bookshelf that spanned the entire wall. Opposite the door was a hallway which led off to several more rooms.

The hallway had seven doors leading off it, as Harry found out when they stepped into the hallway. Instead of having candles, Mr. Porter had put modern lightbulbs around the trunk instead, like the ones that Muggles had. "I've used runes to make sure they work, and there's a null-magic area around the lightbulbs. You'll need to change them every so often, which I can help with," Mr. Porter said. "The electricity fees will be sent to Gringotts, who will pay for it with money from your account."

"Thanks, Mr. Porter," Harry said. "I don't mind that, as lightbulbs make the place much brighter and they're much nicer." The two headed to the first door on the left, which turned out to be a Muggle-style kitchen, with modern appliances such as refrigerators, a microwave and an oven. It wasn't very big – it was actually slightly on the small side – but it would do more than well enough for Harry. Aunt Petunia would have been very happy to have a kitchen like this, even if the size was a 'con'.

The kitchen was a sleek, modern kitchen like the ones Aunt Petunia was always reading about. There was a stove on the side opposite the door, with an oven and a microwave near the stove. On the walls on the left and right of the door, there were long counters with a sink on the left side and a refrigerator on the right. Above the counters were cupboards with glass doors that was filled with some food under a Stasis Charm, and under the counters were more cupboards filled with pots and pans.

Harry 'explored' it for a bit, testing the sink – "Your water fees will be sent to Gringotts, who'll use your money to pay for it," Mr. Porter explained – and the Muggle appliances to see if they worked. Surprisingly, they all did, although when tested, Harry couldn't cast any magic in about half a meter around those objects. "It's the null-magic area," Mr. Porter said. "I studied Ancient Runes to a Mastery level when I was at Hogwarts, and I'm using my knowledge to create these things. You won't find them anywhere else."

The next door on the left of the hallway was a bathroom. "You'll have two bathrooms and two bedrooms," Mr. Porter told Harry. "The bathrooms and the bedrooms are the same, practically copies of each other, except 'flipped' as they're on opposite sides of the hallway, so you don't need to tour them, really." Harry decided to take Mr. Porter's suggestion on board, as he knew he had a lot more shopping to do and not that much time to wander around here.

The bathroom had a large bathtub opposite the door, which had a shower at the wall and a black curtain that could be pulled around it. There were several taps around the bathtub, which were all marked with letters. There was a toilet to the left of the door, with a marble sink opposite it. A large mirror the width of the sink which stretched to the ceiling was above the sink. A bath mat was placed on the ground and there was a towel rack on the right of the toilet, next to the bathtub.

"What are all the taps for?" Harry asked, pointing at them.

"Oh, those are just for fun, really," Mr. Porter said. "The letters correspond to the thing that comes out of the taps. For example, 'B' means 'Bubbles', which will immediately fill the tub. You should have fun testing all of them out, as they're based on the ones in the Hogwarts Prefects' Bathroom." Seeing Harry's confused face, he explained, "At Hogwarts, there's a special bathroom for the prefects. There's a bathtub there the size of a swimming pool, with about a hundred taps around it."

The next room, a bedroom, was very comfortable. There was a large window on the wall opposite the door, and a decent-sized bed was right next to the window, with the 'head' of the bed against the wall on the right of the door. Next to the bed was a set of drawers and a large desk with several drawers. Next to it was a wardrobe that spanned the length of the wall. The floor, like the living room, was carpeted in black, while the walls were also 'charmed' to match the sky, like the living room.

After 'touring' the bedroom, Harry went to the library. The library was at the very end of the hallway, and felt like it was the largest room so far, excluding the living room. "It's also a storage room, actually," Mr. Porter said. "At the end, there's a door which leads to another, small room where you can store your unused things. That's why it's so big." That was because there were several shelves, which were empty. Windows went down one wall, letting in some natural light. Beanbags were scattered about the library.

Finally, Harry went to the dining room, which had a door that directly faced the kitchen door. (He decided to skip the second bedroom and bathroom, as Mr. Porter had said that it was exactly the same as the ones he had already toured.) Inside, there was a long wooden table with four chairs on each long side and one at either end. Another of those 'charmed' windows let in some light, but there were still a ceiling lamp with those lightbulbs. There was a picture of a large castle, which Harry learnt was Hogwarts.

Then, they made their way back out into the living room. "This place is rather large, don't you think?" Harry said. "How did you do it? I know the trunk can't be that big."

"It's actually another dimension," Mr. Porter said. "I learnt Enchanting when I was younger, and one of those topics that we learnt about was dimensions. Once I learnt house-elves can Apparate into other dimensions, I longed to be able to travel into other dimensions. Sadly, as I found out through more research, it's impossible and anyone who has ever traveled into an unknown and unexplored dimension has either never come back or has come back broken and mad.

"But I still wanted to be able to travel into other dimensions. Instead, I decided that I would make my _own_ dimensions, which would be safe for everyone to go to and use, in the form of mini 'homes' at the largest, and simple rooms at the smallest. So, really–" Mr. Porter then stood and spread his arms out "– _this_ is another dimension. We're not on 'Earth' anymore, we're somewhere else now. And I suppose this could be called 'Potter's Dimension', or something. You'll learn about this stuff _if_ you take Enchanting."

"It sounds quite fascinating," Harry said. "Oh, but weren't you going to show me how to close the 'hole' from the inside?"

"Oh, of course!" Mr. Porter said. "Watch me carefully, and then you can have a go."

Once Harry and Mr. Porter were back up the stairs and properly back in Mr. Porter's shop, Harry turned to Mr. Porter. "Thank you, Mr. Porter," Harry said. "It's very well done." Taking out his money pouch, he pulled a hundred and fifty Galleons out of it and handed it to Mr. Porter. "Here's the other half of the money I owe you for this trunk," Harry said, upon seeing Mr. Porter's surprised expression. Mr. Porter, once he put the Galleons into his own pouch, handed Harry the trunk and the two bid each other goodbye.

.

* * *

.

Once Harry had dropped the trunk off in his room at the Leaky Cauldron, he made his way back to Diagon Alley so he could finish his shopping. Even though he had already bought the main things – clothes, books, a wand and a trunk – he still had other things to buy for Hogwarts, the largest and bulkiest of which was the Potions kit that he needed for Hogwarts. Plus, that required a bit of wandering around, so he might be able to pick up other supplies on his way.

According to the list of Hogwarts supplies, he needed a kit of potions ingredients, a set of glass or crystal vials, a set of brass scales and a pewter cauldron, standard size 2. First, he went to buy the cauldron, as there was a cauldron shop opposite the Leaky Cauldron's entrance to Diagon Alley – the one he had seen on the first day. Even though it had a prime position, there were very few customers inside the small shop, which was crowded full of cauldrons of different sizes, shapes and materials.

"It's my fault for making the cauldrons last so long because of the high quality," the owner grumbled to Harry as he helped Harry shrink the cauldron he had bought. "That's why there are no customers – it's because no one needs a new cauldron for a very long time, and besides, most people don't bother with making their own potions after they've graduated from Hogwarts. They'd rather buy their potions from proper shops, and those shops have got their own cauldrons and don't need to bother with mine."

After buying the cauldron, he walked for about ten minutes before he found a small shop which sold sets of glass and crystal phials. Again, there were few people to be found in this shop, and Harry thought that this time it was because of where it was situated – not on the main street, but tucked away in a spot which required quite a bit of walking through alleys to get to. However, the owner was adamant that it was because of the time – "It's not yet August," the owner said. "That's why there ain't many folks here."

Once he made his way back to the main street of Diagon Alley, he went to Slugs & Jiggers Apothecary. Though the name was a bit odd, many people went in and out of the apothecary, carrying bulging bags and chatting about their purchases. Inside, Harry found a pretty good potions ingredient kit, complete with several rare-sounding ingredients such as 'unicorn horns'. When he went to buy it, however, the cashier warned him that as a first-year, he wouldn't be using all these ingredients.

"Why not?" Harry asked. "Doesn't potions use a lot of ingredients?"

"Well, in this set, there are some ingredients here are only used in potions that are rather complicated," the cashier explained. "As a first-year, you definitely won't be mixing any of _those_ potions yet. For the rarer ingredients, you'll only be using them by _fourth_ year at the earliest, and that's only if you're very good at Potions. Are you still sure you want to buy this set, or do you want to buy the first-year's set?" He picked up another set, which was much smaller and much more simple.

"No, I think I'll buy the _second_ -year's set," Harry said. "I'm not planning on coming in here for a while, and I might need some extra ingredients."

"You can always ask for it by owl," the cashier suggested. "For example, say you're running out of belladonna. Then, you can owl us a complete mail order form – Hogwarts has some owls if you don't have your own to use – and request more, as well as sending the money for it. Here's the catalogue if you want it, and a mail order form." He picked up both and handed them to Harry, who eventually decided to buy the first-year's set. The cashier shrunk it, handed it to Harry, who paid for it and left the store.

Afterwards, Harry headed to a shop called Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment to buy his brass scales, passing a shop named Eeylops Owl Emporium. Even though he had only been in the wizarding world for a day, he already knew the importance of owls. _I should buy an owl as well_ , Harry thought. Even though he had no one to write to, he might still like to have an owl – it would be a nice companion, anyway, and more convenient than using the post office's owls. He decided to buy his owl later.

After stopping in Wisacre's Wizarding Equipment, he headed to Twinkle's Telescopes to buy his telescope for astronomy, choosing the most basic telescope. He had no intention of pursuing a career in Astronomy, and buying a complicated telescope would be a waste of time. As he went on his way to the check-out counter, he paused to look at a perfect, moving model of the galaxy. With that, he would never need to do any work in Astronomy, but when he looked at the price, he was shocked and left it alone.

The final stop before going to Eeylops Owl Emporium was Scribbulus Writing Implements. This, too, was a busy shop with plenty of customers wandering in and out, showing off their purchases to their friends and chatting about them. It was a large store, and many people were looking at stationery and oohing and aahing over a section marked 'Latest Arrivals'. Apparently, the theme was currently 'Sunny Summer Stationery', as proclaimed by a banner just below the 'Latest Arrivals' sign.

Harry wandered around that shop for about half-an-hour, picking up quite an amount of stationery along the way. By the time he got to the counter, he needed a basket to hold all his purchases: a dozen quills, a dozen large bottles of black ink, a few bottles of blue ink, fourteen medium-sized notebooks, seven binders, seven zip-lock folders, a magical paperweight which looked like a model of the galaxy, two rulers, a pair of scissors, a giant stack of parchment and a pencil case with several pockets to store everything in.

After putting all his stationery down on the counter, he asked the sales assistant if they stocked bookbags here. However, he was told that they did not, as 'this was a stationery shop, not a luggage shop, and anyway, they were never big sellers in this shop'. But when he asked for possible places to buy a paperweight, he was directed to several shops that sold luggage of different sorts, one of which was Lucky Luggage. Harry mentally made a note to himself that he needed to go back there, perhaps after lunch.

Next stop was Eeylops Owl Emporium, located at 521 Diagon Alley, on the north side. While there were many different colours and species of owls in cages outside the shop, which stared curiously at passersby, the inside of the shop was rather small and dark, as Harry noticed when he walked in. Immediately, he felt himself being pulled to a snowy-white owl, which had a larger cage that was situated right next to the counter. A middle-aged man sat behind the counter, doodling and occasionally looking up at the owl.

"I'll take the snowy-white one, please," Harry said, walking up to the man behind the counter. "How much is the owl?"

"Well, she's fifteen Galleons, but there's also the cost of a cage, a perch and treats to account for," the man said. "But it's not really about the cost, as she also bites hard. She's bitten me several times when I've given her a couple of treats. She bites _everyone_ , come to think of it." The two looked over at the owl, who 'clacked' her beak at the man, although she seemed to simply stare at Harry. "Are you still sure you want to buy her, or would you like to select another owl? We have several snowy owls."

"Thank you for your concern, but I just have the feeling she's the perfect owl for me. I'll take her," Harry said. "How much is a cage, a perch and a year's worth of owl treats?"

"If you're going to Hogwarts, I'd say that six months' worth is enough," the man said. "A cage'll be two Galleons, a perch two Galleons and six months' worth of owl treats will be ten. So... twenty-nine Galleons then. If you buy something else, it could be thirty. A water bowl, maybe?" Harry agreed with everything, and handed over the thirty Galleons to the man and took the cage, perch, owl – in its new cage, owl treats and water bowl. Then, he returned to the Leaky Cauldron to put everything down, as well as eat lunch.

.

* * *

.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry set everything down in categories of what they were, and opened his trunk. He had already decided that Hogwarts things would go in the compartments at the top of the trunk, while everything else would go into the apartment, so it would be more convenient for when he was at Hogwarts. Textbooks would go with textbooks, while non-textbooks would go with non-textbooks, and so on. There was also a way to label the compartments, which Harry decided to make use of.

Firstly, the largest section went to clothing. Surprisingly, there wasn't much Hogwarts clothing that he owned, as the list only said 'three sets of work robes (black), one plain pointed hat (black) for day wear, one pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar), one winter clock (black, with silver fastenings)'. That didn't take up much space in the section, although when Harry added another black hat, another winter cloak, underwear, socks, pants, shirts, pajamas and a pair of shoes, it did take up the whole section.

The next largest section went to the books. There was _The_ _Standard Book of Spells_ by Miranda Goshawk, _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot, _Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling, _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch, _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore, _Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander and _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ by Quentin Trimble, all necessary for Hogwarts classes.

The next section went to his Potions kit, as it was rather large and he didn't want to break anything, and his Astronomy equipment. That meant there was a set of crystal phials, a set of brass scales, a telescope, a cauldron and his potions ingredients kit there. It all fit perfectly fine, but after consulting _The_ _Standard Book of Spells_ for a similar spell, he decided to cast a Cushioning Charm around the section. That was just in case, as his Potions kit and things were surprisingly expensive.

The last section went to his stationery and his owl treats he had bought for his owl – who he had named 'Hedwig', a name which he had found in one of his textbooks, _A History of Magic_. Everything he had bought was simply stored there – no need for sorting the stationery or the owl treats out into sections of 'Hogwarts' and 'personal' as all the stuff Harry had bought was for Hogwarts. There was still space, which Harry left for his soon-to-be-bought bookbag. Again, he cast a Cushioning Charm around the section.

After sorting and labeling everything, Harry decided to transport the rest of the things into his apartment, as there was quite a lot of non-Hogwarts things he had purchased. He first shrunk everything again, carried it all down and ' _Finite Incantatem_ 'ed everything again. First was the books, which he put into his library by category, then by alphabetical order. The shelves still looked rather empty, but that was okay, as he knew the library would fill up as time went by and he bought more and more non-Hogwarts books.

Next was the clothing. He decided to keep all his clothing and personal effects in the first bedroom and bathroom next to the kitchen, and use the opposite side as a 'guest' bedroom if necessary in the future, or if he needed somewhere else to stay as something had gone wrong with the bedroom or bathroom he was currently using. He had a slight problem when it came to organising the clothing as he had never done that before, but eventually decided to organise it by what they were – pants with pants and so on.

Once he was done, Harry surveyed each room, as well as the hallway – he simply _loved_ the electricity and the running water. They all looked rather empty, as he seemed to have a lot less things than he thought he would, but he hoped that over time the apartment would become more full and feel more like 'home'. He found he was satisfied with that, so he climbed out, re-locked his trunk, and decided to go to Flourish  & Blotts first to buy some more new books to fill his library up.

So, back to Flourish & Blotts he went. The assistant that had helped him yesterday was still there, and she greeted him cheerfully. "Hello, dear," she said. "Have you come back to buy more books to read, or are you just browsing?" When Harry replied that he wanted to buy some more books, she went on, "My, you certainly do love reading. Is there anything you're looking for in particular or any special topics? We're still having a sale on those _Harry Potter_ books, so might I suggest those?"

"I'm looking for some Muggle books to read, as well as maybe some _Harry Potter_ books," Harry said. "Could you lead me to the relevant sections? I'm also looking for wizarding fiction books to read that aren't just _Harry Potter_ books, like what teenagers or pre-teens would usually read in the wizarding world. I don't necessarily want any more non-fiction books, but if there are any that I come across that I like, I think I might like to have a look at books that talk about the same or similar topic or topics."

"Of course, we have a wide range of topics and books," the sales assistant said, leading Harry around. In the _Harry Potter_ section, he chose books published by Obscurus Books and written by Roy E. Locket-Hargild (the publisher and author of _Harry Potter: The Boy-Who-Lived_ ); in the Muggle section, he picked out several old classics that Aunt Petunia liked to read ( _Little Women_ and _Pride and Prejudice_ ) and in the wizarding world's section, he picked out a couple of books that looked good.

When Harry took the books up to pay for them, he found a book titled _A Guide to Letter-Writing_. He thought that might be useful, so decided to buy that as well, bringing the total up to ten Galleons. Once he had paid, he had them shrunk, and headed to Lucky Luggage to buy his bookbag for Hogwarts. Even though it wasn't on the list of required supplies, Harry still thought it might be useful to have, so he didn't have to carry his books around in his arms all day long.

.

* * *

.

Mr. Porter was surprised, but pleased, to see Harry again. "Hello," Mr. Porter said when Harry walked in. "Have you come to buy something else today, or is there something wrong with your trunk?" Surprisingly, Harry wasn't the only one in the store this time – there was another girl, who looked about Hogwarts-age, who was there with a woman that was probably her mother. She had long, black hair and black eyes, and pale skin, so was probably Asian. She winked at Harry as she passed by him, who blushed.

"I'm looking for a bookbag for Hogwarts," Harry said. "I'd prefer one with compartments and can hold more than it looks from the outside, but if you don't have one like that, I'll settle for a normal bookbag like the ones Muggles have, although they call it 'schoolbags' when they use it for school."

"Ah, I see," Mr. Porter said. "Well, we have some splendid bookbags here in Lucky Luggage, and you should probably be able to find one that suits you. Come over, and you can choose one from these, which suit what you want – some have compartments, and all of them have Undetectable Expansion Charms on them." He led Harry over to a shelf where many leather bookbags that were either brown, black or white stood, separated by 'Has Compartments' and 'Has No Compartments'. "So, which one would you like?"

Harry walked up and down the shelf for a few minutes, before pointing to one on the 'Has Compartments' side. "I'd like to have a look at that one, please," he said. Mr. Porter took it down for Harry, who had a look at the compartments and the style, before saying, "Yeah, I'll take this one. Can you help me add the things like a Featherweight Charm, my name and things like that, just like you did on my trunk? I'd like to have the Featherweight Charm, the Hogwarts crest and my name, please."

"Of course, I can do that," Mr. Porter said. "You'll have to come and pick it up in an hour's time, though, so about... three-thirty to four? Of course, if you're unavailable then, you can always pick it up tomorrow if you want. I'll have it done in an hour's time, anyway. Do you still want the Notice-Me-Not over your name for now, that can be removed by another ' _Finite Incantatem_ ', or should I simply just not bother with the Notice-Me-Not this time?"

"I'll take the Notice-Me-Not," Harry said. "How much do I owe you for this bag?"

"10 Galleons," Mr. Porter said. "Again, you can pay me 5 Galleons now, and pay me it later when you come to pick it up. I find that way gives both customers and myself assurance, as in the case they decide to cancel the order, I still have half the money, and they don't worry I'm not going to deliver, as they know I'm still waiting on the other half of the money they owe me for the bag or trunk or whatever they've bought." Harry nodded, and handed over the five Galleons.

The next thing Harry decided to do was find an optician, or the equivalent in the wizarding world, so he could get new glasses. He was alright with his old glasses, but as they were rather grubby and had been broken and taped back together several times, he didn't want to show up at Hogwarts with _those_. In the wizarding world, though, it looked like everyone that needed glasses could afford them, so they couldn't be too expensive as they all looked nice and new.

Unfortunately, it was more difficult than Harry thought to find a glasses shop or an optician, so he eventually decided to ask a passerby. "Excuse me, ma'am, but is there a shop that sells glasses nearby, or is there an optician nearby in the Alley?" Harry asked a woman who looked nice. She was also one of the very few that looked friendly and wasn't currently with a friend, or a group of people that surrounded her, all chatting animatedly.

The woman smiled. "Of course, dearie," the woman said. "The only opticians are at St. Mungo's, but you'll need an appointment as well as your magical guardian. So if you're looking for an optician, I'd say you'll have a chance of getting an appointment within the next week or so. But if you're in a hurry, there's a glasses shop, Super Spectacles, owned by Mr. Ollivander. He's the brother of Ollivander, who works at the wand shop." She pointed north to show Harry the direction.

"Thank you, ma'am," Harry said. Following the woman's directions, he soon found the Super Spectacles shop. It was a small, white shop, although some of the paint had chipped away, revealing the grey stone underneath. The sign read 'Super Spectacles' in swirly writing and had glasses on the edge of the sign for decoration. There was a door with an 'Open' sign in the window, with a faded grey 'Welcome' mat underneath. As it was such a small shop, there was no display window.

Once Harry entered the shop, he was greeted with a brightly-lit shop with shelves upon shelves of glasses. There were a few chairs on the side, as well as a 'consultation area', which was basically the same as a Muggle optician's consulting area, but the chair a usual optician would have was replaced by a chair that was rather like a Muggle dentist chair. Once he stepped in, a bell tinkled and an old man turned from where he had been tidying the shelves to greet Harry.

"Hello, young man," the old man, who was presumably Mr. Ollivander, said. "Are you here to have a look– dear me, that simply just won't do!"

"Pardon?" Harry asked. "What won't do?"

"Your glasses, of course," Mr. Ollivander said. "They're Muggle ones, which simply don't work for us wizarding folk unless they're charmed. But the ones you're wearing have no charms whatsoever on them, as well as being of poor quality even compared to Muggle glasses." He took a step closer to Harry. "Also, if I'm right, those glasses are a poor match for you. I can always check my hunch with magic, and then you can buy a new pair of glasses. May I take a look at your glasses?"

"Of course," Harry said, handing Mr. Ollivander his glasses. "I'd actually quite like to buy a new pair of glasses today."

Mr. Ollivander took them, pointed to the chair in the 'consulting area' and said, "Sit down there, please. I'd like to have a look at your eyes, and then the glasses." Once Harry had sat down, he waved his wand at Harry's eyes and muttered a few spells, frowning when he was finished. Then he cast some spells on the glasses, before handing the glasses back to Harry. "Well, I have to say I was right about the 'poor match' thing," he said. "They're a very poor match, and do nothing to help your eyes."

"Well, as I'd like to buy new glasses today, I suppose you can help me buy a pair that actually do suit my eyes?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Mr. Ollivander said. "You've come to the right place if you want that. Come on, you can wander amongst my shelves and choose a frame that you like. If you like the style, but not the colour, I can change the colour for you, so there are no worries about that. Just focus on the style you do like, not the colour, and while you do that, I'll get my Charms folder. You can then use that to pick out some Charms you'd like me to put on your glasses permanently, such as the Self-Cleaning Charm."

Harry rose from the 'consulting chair' and looked around the shop. Shelves literally covered the entire shop's walls, holding many different types, styles, shapes and colours of glasses. Soon, one caught his eye, an oval shape with a silver frame and arms. He took them down from the shelf and took a look at himself in the mirror in the 'consulting area', finding that he rather liked how they looked on him. "How do I look?" Harry asked his mirror-self, and was shocked to hear the mirror reply that he looked good.

Next, he decided to buy a pair of sunglasses, just so they could shield his face. While they all looked similar, he ended up trying on several pairs before finding a style that he thought looked good on him and he liked – a style named 'Ray-Bans'. There was a single, wrap-around lens, with no frames except for the top, and black arms. It hid the most noticeable part of his face – his bright green eyes – and therefore, made it much harder for anyone to recognise him.

By now, Mr. Ollivander was back, holding his Charms folder, but was simply watching Harry choose his glasses. Harry picked up the 'Ray-Bans' he had been holding, then went over and picked up the oval glasses, before going back to the 'consulting area'. "I'll take these two styles, please," Harry told Mr. Ollivander, handing the two glasses over to Mr. Ollivander. "I'd like the sunglasses to also be adjusted to suit my eyes, if that's possible, but if not I'll simply have them unsuited to my eyes and unchanged."

"Very well," Mr. Ollivander said. "I'm sure I can adjust the 'Ray-Bans', though. I'll just adjust the lenses to suit your eyes, but while I'm doing that, you can take a look at my folder and choose some Charms you'd like me to apply onto your lenses. There's no maximum, although it's safer to have less – 'Less is more', as I've learnt – because some Charms may conflict with each other." He handed Harry a slim white folder with 'Charms' written onto the front, and disappeared through the door in the 'consulting area'.

After ten minutes, the old man returned, holding both the glasses and sunglasses. "Have you chosen yet, or would you like me to give you a little more time?"

"Yes, I've chosen," Harry said, handing the folder back. "I'd like to have the Impervious, Self-Cleaning, Anti-Legilimency and the Self-Repair Charms on both the glasses and the sunglasses, please. When should I pick up the glasses and sunglasses, or should I just sit here in the shop and wait for you to finish?"

"Come back in an hour and I'll have these ready for you," Mr. Ollivander said. "You can pay me then, and the total will be about 15 Galleons, in case you need to get some more money out of Gringotts." Harry nodded in agreement, and then left Super Spectacles and Mr. Ollivander.

.

* * *

.

Harry then spent the next half-hour sitting in Florean Fortescue's shop, Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. It sold ice-creams, as its name suggested, and Harry decided to buy a chocolate-flavoured ice-cream with chocolate chips on it, medium size. After all, there were so many good things to celebrate: it was summer, Harry was free from the Dursleys, he was rich and could afford to buy anything he wanted. Then, once he was done with his ice-cream, he made his way down to Lucky Luggage to pick up his bookbag.

When Harry walked into Lucky Luggage, Mr. Porter welcomed Harry enthusiastically. "I must say, it's a very good bag, one of the best I've ever done for any student," Mr. Porter told Harry. "Would you like me to show you how it's like and how it works, or do you just want to take it?"

"It would be nice if you showed me how it's like," Harry said. Mr. Porter then picked up a mint-green box that had been lying on the counter, with a tag saying 'H.P.' on it. The box looked like a fancy shoebox, but it was larger and had the Lucky Luggage symbol on the top. Opening it, Mr. Porter revealed the bookbag Harry had chosen, packaged in pale-gold tissue paper. Mr. Porter then carefully unwrapped the tissue paper and brought the bag out.

"As you can see, Mr. Evans, it's made of black leather," Mr. Porter said. "But while it's made of black leather, it feels much more like a soft and buttery type of leather, as it is a type of leather that is basically leather combined with mokeskin, which can only be found in the wizarding world." Harry took it and looked at it, turning it over for a while. There was a zippered pocket on the front, with the Hogwarts crest and his name, which according to Mr. Porter had a Notice-Me-Not on it that could be ' _Finite Incantatem_ 'ed.

Then, the larger section was also zippered. "The zippers can be blood-locked to yourself, like Gringotts' coin pouches," Mr. Porter said. "I daresay you know how?" Harry nodded in agreement, and then opened the bag. Inside were ten compartments, with smaller zippers inside so nothing would fall out or get mixed up with the things in the other sections. One of those was designed to fit stationery such as quills in. It also could hold a lot more stuff than it seemed to, as Harry could nearly stick his whole arm in.

"That's because there's an Undetectable Expansion Charm there," Mr. Porter explained to Harry. "I've also put a Permanent Featherlight Charm on it, so you can carry as many books as you like in there and it won't feel extremely heavy or almost curve your spine with the weight of the books you're carrying. And believe me, I _have_ seen some people like that, if they're carrying too many books in a bag without a Featherlight Charm on it. Is this bag good enough for you?"

"Yes, thank you," Harry said, paying Mr. Porter the remaining five Galleons. Mr. Porter then zipped the pockets of the bag up, re-wrapped the bag back in the pale-gold tissue paper and placed it back inside the mint-green box, before handing the box with the bag inside to Harry.

After he had picked up the bookbag, he asked a passerby for the time and watched them cast the Tempus Charm – a charm which displayed the time of wherever you were in bright red numbers. It turned out that it was four, an hour since he had gone to Super Spectacles and picked out his glasses. He headed back towards Super Spectacles immediately, keen to pick up his new glasses so he could get rid of his current, broken glasses which Dudley had broken so many times.

At the small shop, Mr. Ollivander greeted him, holding Harry's chosen glasses and sunglasses. "Hello, young man," he said. "I've fitted your glasses to suit your eyes, as well as applying all the charms that you chose on them. Here, have a look." He passed Harry the glasses and the sunglasses, and took Harry's old glasses as Harry took his old glasses off so he could don his newly purchased glasses. Immediately, Harry exclaimed that everything was so clear.

"Of course," Mr. Ollivander said, smiling. "Your old glasses were a _very_ poor match for you. I'm guessing that you haven't gotten new glasses since you were very young, considering that it's a poor match and that rather a lot of tape seems to be holding it together?"

Harry sighed. "Yes, that's true," he said. "My cousin never liked me and constantly played a game were he would catch me and punch me in the face, breaking my glasses."

"Well," Mr. Ollivander said. "I hope you're alright, then. You know, if anything happens like that again, you can always contact the Floo address here." He produced a pamphlet titled 'Child Abuse and What to Do'. "This is given out by the Department of Child Services, and I suggest you have a look at it." Harry took it and put it into a pocket of his robes. "Anyway, if they're fine, they cost fifteen Galleons, as I told you before." Harry handed over fifteen Galleons, noticing his supply of money was dwindling.

So currently, he had spent about six hundred to six hundred fifty Galleons, leaving about four hundred Galleons. As he was done buying all his school supplies and necessary items now, the rate of his money spending should decrease as all he had to pay for was his stay at the Leaky Cauldron, his meals and maybe some treats for himself, he should be fine. Plus, he wouldn't need to pay for anything at Hogwarts, so he probably wouldn't need to get any more money out for a while.

After he was done, he returned to the Leaky Cauldron to start studying. He had figured out a schedule for himself: in the mornings, he would buy anything he needed to, as few people would be in Diagon Alley; in the afternoons, he would study the materials he needed to learn for Hogwarts; and nighttimes would be 'downtime' for him to relax and have a bit of fun. It was currently four-twenty in the afternoon, so it was time to start studying once he had figured out a study schedule. He decided to study Potions that day.

Then, once he was back at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry disappeared into his trunk's bedroom so he could study at the large desk he had seen. Then, at dinnertime, he ordered from room service as he had no wish to encounter the drunken witches and wizards, and spent the evening reading a wizarding world fiction book, _The Mystery of the Missing Time-Turner_ , one of his 'leisure' books. Then, deciding to sleep in his bed in the trunk, he lay down and reviewed his mental to-do list for the next day.

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* * *

Hey guys!

Thanks so much for all the reviews, follows and favourites I got for the first chapter! I've answered all the reviews, so check your inbox if you haven't received it yet. I love you guys (and your reviews, follows and favourites). So... what did you think of this chapter? This chapter's a couple thousand words shorter than the first one – but again, I actually liked writing the first one more as it's much more fun to write Harry buying the larger things first, rather than wrapping up the loose ends from the shopping trip.

But it was also fun to write the description of the trunk – did you like it? Please review, and I'll hopefully have my next chapter out quickly! (Note from September 18, 2018: I'm finally done with editing this chapter, after almost a month!)

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 8,900


	3. Re-Meetings

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Three – Re-Meetings**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

Five days later, Harry emerged from his trunk feeling happy. So far, his past week had been rather tedious, because he'd been studying for most of the day – he'd changed his schedule to studying Hogwarts materials in the mornings and other things in the afternoons – but finally, he had managed to learn enough to solve one of his dilemmas. That was re-introducing himself through letters to the Heads of Houses Longbottom, Bones, Greengrass and Black, as well as getting himself introduced to his betrothed.

Finally, after a bit of research – talking to people like Tom and Stoneclaw – he now knew who the Heads of each of the Houses were. The rightful Head of House Longbottom was currently unable to attend to his duties, so his widowed mother, Dowager Lady Augusta Longbottom, was the current Head and Regent. That was because Lord Franklin and Lady Alice Longbottom were apparently in St. Mungo's and their Heir, Neville Longbottom, was the same age as Harry – merely a day older – so he was not yet of age.

The rightful Head of the Noble and Ancient House of Bones was Susan Bones, as the last remaining member of the 'main' Bones line, but she, too, was the same age as Harry and not yet of age. Therefore, her aunt and closest relative, Amelia Bones, was the current Head and Regent of the House of Bones. The title 'Regent' meant, as Harry learnt, that Amelia Bones was merely standing in for her niece until her niece was either of-age or was emancipated earlier due to something life-changing happening.

The Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass was still Lord Cygnus Greengrass, as it had been ten years earlier. He was also the father of Harry's betrothed, Miss Daphne Greengrass, so Harry knew that he would have to be especially careful with that letter. Surprisingly, his House was the only one of all four Houses that were allied with the House of Potter that was 'complete', with a Lord, Lady and children. However, Harry knew that the 'problem' was that he didn't have any male Heirs.

Last was the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. According to Stoneclaw, Sirius Black was currently residing in Azkaban, the wizard prison, and wasn't allowed any visitors not on official business. Stoneclaw also informed Harry that Albus Dumbledore was currently the Black proxy, though it was an illegal position. That was because Sirius Black had never named Dumbledore as his proxy, and there were members alive and free that were more closely related to the Blacks than Dumbledore, such as Narcissa Malfoy.

As Harry had no desire to speak to or have any contact with Dumbledore, he decided to scratch 'Contact the Head of the House of Black' off his to-do list. He had decided that he would have no contact with Dumbledore until absolutely necessary, so the alliance would be 'suspended' for now, as Sirius Black was in Azkaban for life. By now, he had finished his letters to Regents Augusta Longbottom and Amelia Bones, but was still in the middle of writing to Lord Cygnus Greengrass.

Lord Greengrass' letter, for Harry, was the most difficult to write out of the three. That was because the letter required him to basically say 'I'm the representative and sole remaining member of an allied House, and I'd like to re-introduce me even though you haven't seen me for a decade', _as well_ _as_ 'I'm your eldest daughter and Heiress' betrothed, as we're betrothed through an ancient contract, and I'd like to re-introduce myself to you _and_ your eldest daughter, my betrothed'. But finally, he was finished.

"Hedwig," Harry called, and she quickly flew from her perch to sit on Harry's arm. "Help me take these three letters, please. The one on your left leg is for Lady Amelia Bones, at Bones Manor. The one at the top of your right leg is for Lord Cygnus Greengrass, at Greengrass Manor, and the one at the 'bottom' of your right leg is for Dowager Lady Augusta Longbottom, who lives at Longbottom Manor. Got that?" Harry took her 'hoot' as a 'yes', so fastened the letters onto her legs before letting her fly out of the window.

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* * *

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The next day was July 31st, Harry's eleventh birthday. As it was his eleventh birthday today, he would be allowed to take up his Headship for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter today. He didn't know whether or not he would be allowed to have a certified copy of his parents' will to look over in his spare time, but he still had to go to Gringotts anyway to claim his Headship. He also wanted to pick up some more money from his vault, as well as have a little chat with Stoneclaw about the betrothal and the family.

So early that morning, as he woke up early, he quietly dressed and slipped out of the Leaky Cauldron, careful not to disturb anyone. After getting to Gringotts – Harry was the first customer of the day, as the goblin behind the counter informed him – he asked to speak to Stoneclaw. "I'm the Heir of House Potter, here to claim my Headship," Harry explained to the goblin, who nodded and wrote something on parchment before dropping it in a box, as tellers seemed to communicate with other goblins from their 'posts'.

Soon, a goblin came up to him and took him to Stoneclaw's office. Even though it was rather early, Stoneclaw was already dressed in a three-piece suit and was sitting behind his desk, doing 'parchmentwork' – the wizarding world's word for 'paperwork'. As soon as the goblin had 'delivered' Harry to Stoneclaw, Stoneclaw looked up, and upon seeing Harry, capped his bottle of ink and set his quill and parchmentwork aside. "Good morning, Mr. Potter," Stoneclaw said. "I must say, you're very early today."

"I had a feeling that it might take a while, and I have other things to be getting on with," Harry replied. "Time is money, is it not?"

Stoneclaw grinned, showing all his sharp white teeth. "Well, you're certainly correct," he said. "Well, we should start with the Headship, as that is more important." He held out a ring-box with the Potter family crest on it, with 'Potter Heir Ring' underneath the crest. "This is your Heir's ring, which you can only receive when you're eleven and which you need to have before you can get your Headship. It only allows the rightful heir of the House of Potter to wear it, and will resize to your finger once you put it on."

After Harry had donned the ring – which, like Stoneclaw had said, resized to fit his finger – Stoneclaw held out a stone bowl, with a sharp spike at the bottom and runes engraved around the edges. "Press your finger to the spike, and let seven drops of blood drip out into the bowl. Your finger will heal itself after the required blood has been produced from it." Harry did so, and Stoneclaw withdrew the bowl and led Harry onto a cart, still carrying the bowl of blood.

The cart, once Stoneclaw tapped a few runes with one of his long fingers, drove itself deep into the bank. Here, the air was much colder, and Harry thought he could hear dragons roaring. Here, the cart tracks became much more rickety, often suspended by magic alone hundreds of feet from the ground, and hardly any other carts sped by on the few tracks that he _could_ see. But eventually, the cart slowed to a stop in front of a pair of large double doors, with the simple word 'Headship' written in gold across them.

The room, as Harry could see once the pair stepped in, was black on two walls and white on the other two, painted so that a black wall was facing a black and white was facing white. All four walls had runes carved into them, as did the ceiling and the floor. On the floor, runes were carved in a circle, and in the centre of this 'rune circle' was a small altar with several markings. Once they stepped into the room, Stoneclaw carefully stepped into the middle of the 'rune circle' and poured the blood into a particular carving.

Then, stepping out of the circle, Stoneclaw said to Harry, "This is for you to claim your Headship, and fully activate the Potter magics in you. You should kneel within the circle, before the altar, and press your Heir ring into that marking." Stoneclaw pointed at an indentation that was about halfway up the altar. "Then, say, 'I, Harrison James Potter, rightful Heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, hereby claim the Headship and reactivate all that has lay dormant since the previous Lord passed away.'"

"'I, Harrison James Potter, Heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, hereby claim the Headship and reactivate all that has lay dormant since the previous Lord passed away?" Harry repeated. "Wait no, _rightful_ Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter. Right?"

"Right," Stoneclaw said. "Once you have done that, there will be a flash of magic. Then, say, 'I, Harrison James Potter, rightful Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, accept the family Headship and the family magics that have been newly unlocked in me.' Then, the House of Potter's Headship ring should appear on your finger and merge with your Heir ring to form a new ring. Don't worry, you will be able to separate them again if necessary. Got that?"

Harry nodded and 'got on' with it. After following Stoneclaw's instructions and completing the 'ritual', he felt the Potter magics accept him. Then, another ring appeared on his finger, and he somehow felt lighter, but also more full with magic at the same time. "Congratulations, Mr. Potter," Stoneclaw said, grinning. "Now, would you like to come back to my office so you can receive a certified copy of your parents' will? Then, Griphook can take you to your trust vault so you can pick more money up."

Harry agreed, and the pair stepped back out of the room and into a waiting cart. This cart took them back the way they had come, back to Stoneclaw's office. Then, once they were there, Stoneclaw told Harry to sit and wait as he wrote a letter to the 'Keeper of Wills', who would then send a certified copy of James and Lily Potters' will. Once Stoneclaw had finished, he dropped it into the nearby box and waited for a reply. Soon, a long piece of parchment popped out, which Stoneclaw signed and then handed to Harry.

' _The Last Will and Testament of James Charles Potter and Lily Jane Potter (neé Evans)_ ', the title read. Below it, ' _Certified Copy of the Will from the British Branch of the Bank of Gringotts_ ' was written in bold letters, and signed by both the 'Keeper of Wills' and Stoneclaw. "This is your copy of your parents' will, which you can keep," Stoneclaw explained. "As you've taken up your Headship, this is going to be unsealed again, and activated. You will receive the bequeathments of those who are mentioned, but have since died."

Harry quickly scanned through the will, noting down some of those who were mentioned, and taking note of the bequeathments forf, as the will put it, 'The Order of Phoenix, a group led by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore' and Dumbledore himself. "Please, activate the will, but withhold Dumbledore's and his Order of Phoenix's bequeathments. Dumbledore still owes me money, and any group led by him can't be that good if he's willing to steal money from me."

"Very well," Stoneclaw said, nodding. "Now, Griphook will take you down to your trust vault again, to pick more money up. But, while he's getting here, I'll give you a quick update about your family's investments. They are, actually, very good investments. There are several which I'd advise you to lose as soon as possible, and several which aren't brilliant investments, just doing okay, but the majority of them are brilliant. You can choose what to do for those that are 'middling', but some might be worth keeping.

"Looking over them, I have to say your parents were simply _brilliant_ investors. They had a lot of foresight, and often purchased businesses that owned land if they were in the wizarding world. That way, if the business collapsed due to the war, they still had the land, which was usually worth quite a bit. They also invested in businesses that were in other countries, especially those where they had a property nearby or were doing particularly well and didn't look like they were going to be in a war anytime soon.

"However, they also invested in the Muggle world. You own part of several Muggle businesses, as well as owning some others outright. Your parents also purchased several properties in areas such as New York City and France, which are all either in stasis or currently being rented out to others. All of them, bar one, are still standing. And as for the one that has since been destroyed, which happened in the war, you still own the land on which it was built, which is worth a decent amount."

"Well, that seems quite good," Harry said. "When can I get a copy of my full financial holdings?"

"In a month," Stoneclaw replied. Just then, Griphook arrived to take Harry down to his trust vault. This time, he took out about five hundred Galleons, as he didn't think he needed much for school. Then, Griphook took him back to the 'surface' of Gringotts, and the two parted ways for the time being.

Next was Harry's trip to the nearest magazine/newspaper stall. After hearing things about Diagon Alley, as well as reading his books, he realised he was very behind on the wizarding world's news – for example, what was so special about this Ministry press release that he had heard several people mentioning? Magazines and newspapers were also far cheaper than books, as well as being more up-to-date. According to the sales assistant, Britain's main newspaper was the _Daily Prophet_ , whose 'rival' was the _Quibbler_.

"I suggest you subscribe to the _Daily Prophet_ , rather than the _Quibbler_ ," the sales assistant said. "The _Daily Prophet_ is, as the name suggests, a daily newspaper, while the _Quibbler_ is a monthly tabloid. The _Quibbler_ also tends to print fanciful stories about creatures like the 'Crumple-Horned Snorcack'. There are also scholarly journals such as _Transfiguration_ _Today_ , but they might be a bit too difficult for you, if you're just starting at Hogwarts. There are also things like _Witch Weekly_ , which you might not like."

"Um, I'll have to pass on the latter," Harry said. "But, I'll subscribe to the _Daily Prophet_. Can I buy today's copy, as well as a subscription form?"

"Of course," the sales assistant replied, pulling a copy of today's _Daily Prophet_ off the racks and producing a subscription form from below the counter. Then, upon Harry's request, lent him a quill to fill the form out with. It was a simple form: his full name, including diminutives if you were better known by a diminutive; where he wanted to get his newspaper delivered to, and a signature that he had given the sales assistant the ten Galleons required for a yearly subscription, and the sales assistant's signature.

Once he had completed the form, he handed it to the sales assistant, and exited the shop with his copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Then, he found a small café to eat breakfast in, and ordered a typical breakfast before opening the _Daily Prophet_ and scanning through it: a new book release by a woman named Rita Skeeter, an interview with the Minister about something going on in the Ministry and several more, less interesting, articles. Harry finished his breakfast, before returning to the Leaky Cauldron.

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* * *

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At exactly five twenty-five in the late afternoon on the first of August, Harry was standing in front of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, preparing to step into it. The reason for doing so wasn't because he wished to burn himself or die, it was because he had an appointment he had to keep, and this fireplace would take him to that meeting point using the 'Floo network', one of the wizarding world's communication and traveling methods, and one which was quite popular and used every day.

Through much observation, Harry had learnt that with the aid of Floo powder – a glittery green powder that turned fires in fireplaces into harmless, tall, emerald-green fires – which allowed people to use the network, people could stick their heads in the fireplaces and 'call' people. It was like the wizarding world's version of a phone call, known as a 'Floo call'. However, that wasn't the only purpose: people could also travel through it to another fireplace that was connected through the Floo network, using Floo powder.

That day, Harry was going to be using it to travel to Longbottom Manor, the residence of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom – one of the House of Potter's allies, as well as the family of his godmother, Lady Alice Longbottom. However, as Lord Frank and Lady Alice were 'unable to be present due to their health', Harry would only be meeting with Dowager Lady and Regent Augusta Longbottom, as well as Heir Apparent Neville Longbottom.

Handing a silver Sickle to Tom, who stood nearby, Harry was given a handful of Floo powder, which he immediately threw into the fireplace. He then watched as the flames turned green and rose higher than he was, which he was told was normal and would be harmless. Then, when Tom told him that the connection was now through, Harry stepped into the fireplace and said clearly, "Longbottom Manor" and the one-time-only password he had been given, "Longbottoms rule".

It felt as though he was being sucked down a giant drain, although much warmer and brighter. He seemed to be spinning very fast, with a deafening roar in his ears and green flames whirling about him, dragging him somewhere. He could see a blurry stream of fireplaces and the rooms they were connected to – a pink one, a cozy and overstuffed one, a formal one, one full of books – and then finally, he landed with a bump on a smooth marble floor in a beautiful, if a little too formal, room.

"Are you okay?" Harry looked up to see a sandy-haired boy, who was dressed in formal Heir's robes, holding out his hand to him. "That was quite a bump, I should know as I'm also pretty clumsy and I'm useless with the Floo, too..." He sounded like he was about to go off into a ramble once Harry had gotten up, before suddenly stopping. "Sorry, forgot myself just then. I, Neville Franklin Longbottom, Heir Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom, formally welcome you to Longbottom Manor."

As his books had taught him, Harry immediately replied, "I, Harrison James Potter, Heir Apparent of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, thank you for your kind welcome." The two shook hands, as was correct, and then Neville led Harry to another room, which was decorated in the Longbottom colours: red and bronze. This, according to Neville – as he had allowed Harry to call him – was where they should wait. Neville then directed Harry to a comfy-looking armchair, and both sat down.

Not long after, a woman who appeared to be in her late forties to fifties appeared, dressed in deep purple robes and a hat with a stuffed vulture on it. Once she entered, Neville immediately stood up and went over to the woman, offering his arm to her and leading her to a seat. "Heir Potter," Neville said when the woman had sat down. "I would like to formally introduce you to my grandmother, Dowager Lady Augusta Longbottom of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Heir Potter," she said, nodding, before addressing both Harry and Neville. "I'm sorry for being late. I hope you haven't been waiting too long?"

"No, Gran," Neville said. "We just sat down a couple minutes ago."

"Hello, Dowager Lady Longbottom," Harry replied. "It's nice to meet you, too. You may call me 'Harrison', or 'Harry', if you wish."

"And you're comfortable with 'Harry'?" she asked. Upon seeing Harry nod and agree, she said, "Then, thank you for letting me call you 'Harry'. You may call me 'Augusta', as I think 'Dowager Lady Longbottom' is a bit of a mouthful and rather formal anyway, or 'Gran' like Neville does." She paused, then continued, "Now that the formalities are over, though, how have you been these past ten years? All Albus Dumbledore has said was that you were in a 'safe' place."

"Yes, Augusta," Harry said. "I've been with my mother's sister and her husband, Petunia and Vernon Dursley."

"But wasn't your mother a Muggleborn?" Augusta asked, frowning. When Harry nodded, her eyes slowly grew larger and larger as realisation dawned on her. "You mean, Albus _bloody_ Dumbledore placed you in the Muggle world, with a pair of Muggles who could not _possibly_ protect you from people like the Death Eaters?"

"And their son," Harry said. "I only re-entered the wizarding world a week or so ago, when I got my Hogwarts letter and found out about the wizarding world. Then, using my memories, I managed to make my way to the Leaky Cauldron, and, of course, Diagon Alley. I've been staying at the Leaky Cauldron ever since, by myself. Surprisingly, no one's ever questioned that, not even Tom. I've bought my school supplies and so on, and even taken several trips to Gringotts, so I'm fine.

"Of course, Flourish & Blotts and my textbooks aren't the only places where I've learnt things," Harry went on. "Gringotts has taught me a lot, as has my parents' letters. For example, it told me that Lord and Lady Longbottom, and subsequently, you, were meant to be my guardians. Could you possibly explain that, and how I ended up at the Dursleys' instead?" He turned to face Augusta, who was then taken aback by the fierceness in those eyes that were so similar to Lily's.

Augusta sighed. "We were never given a choice. The first we heard of the attack, we thought all three of you died. The morning after, the _Daily Prophet_ proclaimed you the 'Boy-Who-Lived', and that was the first time we heard that you were alive. Immediately, Frank and Alice headed to the Ministry to claim you, only to find out that Dumbledore had taken you somewhere, sealed James' and Lily's wills, and had claimed magical guardianship of you. Then, four days later, they were... attacked." She looked down and sighed.

"Why didn't you ask Dumbledore, Gran?" Neville piped up. "I'd have loved to have had a brother growing up."

"I tried, Frank and Alice tried, the Wizengamot tried," Augusta answered. "All he would say was 'Young Harry is in a safe and happy home, and will remain there until it is time for him to go to Hogwarts'. Then, when Death Eaters started claiming they were under the Imperius Curse and walked free, he declared that revealing the address of your 'safe place' would be even more dangerous and just refused to say anything when asked. 'Just send any messages to 'Harry Potter', and I'll make sure he gets them', he said."

"Well, clearly he lied, since I didn't get anything," Harry said.

"Nothing? Not even your Gringotts letters?" Augusta asked in concern. When Harry nodded, she exclaimed, "But it's illegal to intercept Gringotts mail!"

"Well, Dumbledore did it," Harry said. "And another point that I should bring up about my mail: I'm the supposedly famous 'Boy-Who-Lived', right?" Augusta and Neville nodded at this. "Well, in the Muggle world, famous people usually get many, many pieces of fan mail: letters, gifts, cards, whatever. But if that's the case here in the wizarding world as well, why didn't I get anything? My Hogwarts letter was the first thing that I got from the wizarding world."

Augusta shook her head. "Sorry, but I don't know the answer to that, either," she said. "Anyway, you'll see Dumbledore when you go to Hogwarts in a month's time. Even though I'm not too fond about you having much contact with Dumbledore, especially after everything he did to you, I think it would be best if you asked him for the answers to those questions you have regarding your time spent with the Dursleys, as well as asking for your mail back, and slowly going through all that mail."

"Good idea," Harry said. "But, in the meantime, I would like to ask for some help regarding my first meeting with Lord Greengrass and his eldest daughter, Heir Presumptive Daphne, who is also my betrothed, even if I haven't seen her in nearly ten years, if I ever met her at all when I was a baby and still lived with my parents."

"Well, we'd be happy to help you," Augusta said. "I didn't know that Heir Greengrass was your betrothed, though. Where did _that_ come from?"

"Several decades ago, as a sort of 'safety net' between our families," Harry replied. "If you've ever learnt about Muggle history, you'll know that in the mid- to late-1910s, there was a Muggle war that is now known as 'World War I' and was known as the 'Great War' back then. Back then, the two Lords of House Potter and Greengrass were Henry Potter and Samuel Greengrass, respectively. Both were heavily involved with the Muggle world, and as a result both Houses were nearly wiped out.

"Then, they decided that they would set up a betrothal contract," Harry went on. "If a House didn't have a male Heir, the Heir Apparent of the House – the son – would become betrothed to the daughter of the other House that was closest in age. This was, of course, more of a safety net than anything else, and both apparently never thought it would come into play. However, it has, and as a result Heir Greengrass and I are betrothed to each other."

"I'm happy the House of Longbottom doesn't have anything to do with these betrothals – betrothing future members of our House to others," Neville said.

"Neville!" Augusta said sharply to her grandson, before turning to speak to Harry in a softer tone, "And you're okay with this?"

"Well, it's not like I have much of a choice, is it?" Harry said, and sighed. "I need some help, though. None of the books I've read have situations like this, as the two people that are betrothed have usually met each other before, or at least haven't been separated for a decade." Augusta and Neville nodded, and by the end of the night, Harry had learnt a lot. He also had answers to some of his questions, such as what to do when he 're-met' the girl again, and what to do about the betrothal.

By the time Harry bid the Longbottoms goodbye and good night, he had managed to re-establish the alliance with House Longbottom. He has also agreed to meet up with Neville on the Hogwarts Express, although saying that he would most likely be sitting with Daphne, as he would be using Augusta's suggestion to befriend the girl first. The two boys also agreed that whoever got to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and the Hogwarts Express, first would be finding them a compartment.

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* * *

.

At six o'clock in the evening on the second of August, the fireplace in the 'Floo room' of Bones Manor flashed with green flames. Just like he had twenty-four hours ago, Harry tumbled out of the fireplace and landed on the floor, but this time in front of a red-haired girl. This was Susan Bones, the Heiress Apparent of the Noble and Ancient House of Bones. She, too, held out her hand to assist Harry in getting up off the floor, although she giggled quite a bit as she did so and when Harry tumbled out with a bump.

Then, after the two of them had gone through the welcoming formalities just like he and Neville had yesterday, Harry offered his arm to Susan and asked, "May I?" She giggled again, before accepting and thanking him. However, unlike Neville, she didn't take him to the sitting room, instead directing him to the dining room, where three places were already laid out around a small, three-person table. The larger table stood in the middle of the room, unused, while the table that was set out was at the side.

At one of the places around the three-person table, a woman that appeared to be in her late thirties sat. She was a square-jawed witch, with close-cropped hair and a monocle, making her look quite serious. When the pair approached her, Susan let go of Harry, cleared her throat, and turned to him. "Heir Potter," Susan said, "I would like to formally introduce you to my aunt, Regent Amelia Bones of the Noble and Ancient House of Bones. Regent Bones, I would like to introduce you to Heir Potter."

"Good evening, Mister Potter," Regent Bones said. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, after these ten years. I am Amelia Bones, the current Regent for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Bones. You may call me 'Amelia', or 'Aunt Amelia', as Susan does, if you want to. 'Regent Bones' is rather formal, and as you're not one of my employees or work in the Ministry, 'Madam Bones' seems quite odd, especially coming from an eleven year old."

"Then, call me 'Harry'... Amelia," Harry replied.

Amelia smiled at that. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you, anyway. Where have you been these past ten years? I've been discreetly searching for you as you were with none of your named guardians in your parents' will, and I wanted to see whether or not you were in a happy place. All Dumbledore would say was that you were in a 'safe' place."

"Well..." Harry then told Amelia what he had told Augusta yesterday evening about the Dursleys, and re-entering the wizarding world a week ago, although he left out the part about the mail being intercepted, as that didn't have anything to do with the question that she had asked, 'Where have you been these past ten years?'. As the Head of the DMLE – Magical Britain's police department – she might go and try to do something to Dumbledore, leading him to know that the 'jig was up'.

After Harry had finished speaking, Amelia nodded. "Thank you for telling me all this," she said. "No, thank you for telling _us_ all this. But tell me this: have you ever considered prosecuting a case against Dumbledore?" At seeing Harry's face, she said, "No, this won't be for a while, though. Your testimony isn't enough to do much, apart from let him know that you're _definitely_ not on his side, nor are you one of those people who bow down to Dumbledore."

"I can't say I haven't, but, I'm also a little curious about your intentions. Why are you so keen for me to help you take down Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"That's easy," Amelia replied. "First of all, no matter what he says, he rarely does something for the Greater Good of the wizarding population of Magical Britain. He's managed to push through laws and motions that benefit him, both through inaction and through action. Secondly, he tends to be optimistic to the point of foolishness, supporting Death Eaters such as Severus Snape, claiming he was a spy for the Light. Another reason is that he's basically in charge of the Ministry, through backroom shenanigans."

"Basically, bribing people," Susan supplied helpfully. "He's also quite good at manipulating people and laws to suit his needs. For example, since he was offered the position of Minister of Magic so many times, before they appointed Cornelius Fudge, Fudge has come to depend on him quite a lot. And Fudge is one of those people that are easily manipulated, so through suggestions from Dumbledore and 'donations' from Lucius Malfoy, those two men basically control the whole country."

Then, Harry asked them for advice regarding what to do with his meeting with the Greengrasses. At first, they asked why he was meeting with them and needed help, but when he told them that Daphne was his betrothed, both looked very shocked. "The Potters weren't fond of betrothal contracts, as I recall," Amelia said. "They stopped using them several generations back, longbefore most families even _thought_ of stopping to use them, let alone actually not using them."

"As far as I know, the one I'm currently 'locked' into was only meant to be a 'safety net'," Harry replied. "It was never meant to actually happen, but it clearly did."

By the end of the night, however, Harry knew that he had re-established the alliance with House Bones. He had also arranged to meet up with Susan on the Hogwarts Express, but saying that he would be sitting with Neville and most likely, his betrothed, Daphne. "I have no problem with them," Susan said. "I've met them both and they're quite nice. However, my friends Hannah Abbott and Luna Lovegood might join us as well, if they're of a mind to."

"That's fine by me," Harry said, nodding. Then, Harry bid the Boneses 'goodnight and goodbye', before leaving them via Floo, yet again. When he got back to the Leaky Cauldron, it was nearly eleven, so he quickly got ready for bed. He was so tired that the moment he 'flopped' down onto his bed, he fell fast asleep.

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* * *

.

The next evening, at six in the evening again, a fireplace flashed with green flames and Harry tumbled out. However, instead of landing on the floor of Longbottom Manor or Bones Manor, it was _Greengrass_ Manor that he had arrived at. This time, instead of landing at the feet of a sandy-haired boy or a red-haired girl, both about his age, he landed at the feet of a blond-haired girl with blue eyes, who looked a few years younger than him, around nine or ten. This must be the Greengrasses' youngest daughter.

After they had gone through the formalities – her name was Astoria, as it turned out, not Astrid – Astoria led him to the lounge in Greengrass Manor, this time. Clearly, they weren't going to be having dinner yet. On the way there, she explained why she had been sent to welcome him. "Well, you're meant to be meeting my parents, aren't you?" she said. "So, they can't welcome you. And as Daphne's your betrothed and you haven't been formally introduced, she can't do it. And I'm the only one left, so I have to."

Once they arrived at the lounge, they immediately saw a man and woman that looked like they were in their early to mid-thirties. The man was dark-haired, with blue eyes, while the woman was blond like Astoria, with similar blue eyes. These two could only be Lord Cygnus and Lady Isabel Greengrass, as Astoria looked so much like the woman, but with the man's face shape. Both were seated on a sofa together, drinking cups of tea. Once they spotted Astoria and Harry, they stopped and turned to face them.

"Heir Potter," Astoria said, standing slightly apart from Harry, so she could face both her parents and him. "I would like to formally introduce you to my parents, Lord and Lady Greengrass of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass. Lord and Lady Greengrass, this is Heir Potter of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass."

Lady Greengrass smiled. "Good evening, Heir Potter," she said. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Thank you for inviting me to your beautiful home, Lord and Lady Greengrass," Harry said. "I'm sorry for not having contacted you earlier than this, but I only 're-entered' the wizarding world a little under two weeks ago, and I've been rather busy, learning everything I can. Also, please, do call me 'Harry'. If we're going to be family sometime in the coming several years, I think it would be easier if we became comfortable with each other, starting out with a small step like not calling each other by our formal titles."

"Thank you for allowing us to call you 'Harry'," Lord Greengrass said. "If that is so, you must call me 'Cygnus'."

"And me, 'Isabel'," Isabel said, setting down her cup of tea. "But, now that you've formally met us, I think it would be best if you met your betrothed, Daphne. Excuse me, please." She rose from the sofa gracefully and left the room, leaving Cygnus, Astoria and Harry, who sat in silence until Isabel returned, with a pretty blond girl. She had long, blond hair, blue eyes like Isabel's, and looked like an older version of Astoria and a younger version of Isabel, about Harry's age.

"Heir Potter," Isabel said, "I would like to formally introduce to you your betrothed, Miss Daphne Greengrass of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass." Isabel then sat back down next to Cygnus, while Daphne and Astoria shared a sofa nearby and Harry sat in a nearby armchair. "So, now that we all know each other and have all been introduced, do you mind telling us about where you've been these past ten years, Harry?" Isabel asked. "We've written to you multiple times, but have never gotten a reply."

Harry sighed. "Well, Dumbledore has been the main cause of it. Through a little research, as well as a talk with Dowager Lady Longbottom, I've come to realise that he set up a mail redirection ward on me, without my permission. The only way that I've found that gets around it is mailing it to another name that isn't 'Harry Potter', 'Harry J. Potter', 'Harry James Potter', 'The Boy-Who-Lived' and similar names. That's why I could receive your answer when you mailed it to 'Harrison Potter', not 'Harry Potter'.

"Believe me, the only piece of mail from the wizarding world I've received is my Hogwarts letter," Harry continued. "I've also come to realise that Dumbledore, my supposed magical guardian, is the cause of almost everything bad that's happened in my life: me being dumped on my Muggle aunt, her husband and her son; me being forced to spend ten years there; everything. The first time I ever even learnt of my heritage and rightful position in wizarding society was when I entered Gringotts on the twenty-fourth of July."

"That's my birthday," Daphne replied. "Call me Daphne, by the way." From the corner of his eye, Harry could see Cygnus and Isabel exchange glances and smile at that.

"After hearing that, I know now for sure that Dumbledore is a liar," Isabel said firmly. "Over the past ten years, he's been claiming that you're in a safe and happy place, you're taken care of, and he's been checking up on you. Clearly, he hasn't been."

"Where have you been staying, may I ask?" Cygnus asked.

"Oh, I've been staying at the Leaky Cauldron so far, and plan to until I go to Hogwarts," Harry said. "As I can stay at Hogwarts over the Christmas and Easter breaks, I plan to just stay at Hogwarts during those times. Then, next summer, I'm thinking on staying at the closest property to Hogwarts that I own, which if I recall correctly is a one-bedroom apartment in a place called Hogsmeade. Then, I'll just repeat that pattern until I graduate. Of course, I'm also hoping to spend time with friends, and Daphne, during breaks."

"Well, we can't have that," Cygnus said. "What do you feel about staying with us for the next month, until you and Daphne go to Hogwarts?"

"I'd like that very much," Harry said. "Thank you for the invitation."

At seven-thirty sharp, the Greengrasses and Harry headed to the dining room to have dinner, a very relaxed affair, especially compared to the dinners at Longbottom Manor and Bones Manor, which were both full of probing questions. Thankfully, the Greengrasses didn't seem to want to pry into Harry's life so far too much, and as a result everyone was relaxed and happy. Astoria, of course, spent quite a bit of time telling Daphne how lucky she was to be betrothed to Harry, until Isabel called a halt to it.

Over the dessert – a delicious chocolate cake made by the Greengrasses' cook, a house-elf named Pinky – the talk turned to Hogwarts houses. Daphne thought she might be sorted into either Slytherin or Ravenclaw, and after much thought, Harry found he was the same as well. "I think I'm smart enough to be in Ravenclaw, and I have a good memory, which might make Ravenclaw my 'main' house. But I think I'm also cunning enough and ambitions enough to be put into Slytherin, making it my second choice."

"I'm the same, but Slytherin is my 'main' house, as you put it," Daphne said. "I think I'm more ambitious than smart, so Ravenclaw's my second choice. However, I could be considered loyal, which could put me in Hufflepuff as well, but I don't think I'll be there. Another factor that might affect is is that my best friend is a 'Slytherpuff' – a person with a mix of Slytherin and Hufflepuff traits – and as Slytherin's the only House we share and we're planning on being together, I'll end up there."

"So I would be a 'Raverin', then, and you a 'Slytherclaw'," Harry said. "In other words, two sides of the same coin, as we share the same Houses but have different 'main' Houses: I'm more a Ravenclaw, and you're more a Slytherin, but we're still similar. Don't you agree?"

"I agree with you, Harry," Cygnus said. "That was very well said. Shall we retire into the lounge to allow Pinky to tidy up?" The Greengrasses and Harry then headed to the lounge, where they sat themselves down in the same seats they had as before dinner, and chatted for a while before Isabel sent Daphne and Astoria to bed. Once they had gone, Harry said, "I hope it wouldn't be too odd if I was to ask if I could be formally allowed to court Daphne until we marry."

"But why would you want, or need, to?" Isabel asked. "You two are already betrothed."

"Well, I don't want to deny either of us the experience," Harry said. "However, I don't intend to just start 'dating' her straight away. I want us to become friends first."

"I see what you're thinking," Cygnus said. "That's nice of you. And while we're on this topic of the betrothal, we need to make it 'official', which we can only do in a ceremony. Once you move in, we can start planning it, as it'll be quite a big deal as it concerns two Noble and Most Ancient Houses. This will also officially register it with the Ministry, so it's considered binding." The three of them then organised for Harry to return tomorrow at two in the afternoon with all his possessions, and then parted ways.

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* * *

Hey guys!

Thanks again for all the reviews, follows and favourites – I hope you'll stay and continue reading this, as well as reviewing, following and favouriting this story! What do you think about this fanfiction? Please review, and I'll probably have my new chapter out soon. And please review, follow and favourite my friend ttdbzgumball and her Fred-and-George fanfiction (don't worry, it's not a lemon or anything like that, just what happened in the years before Harry met them), _Fred and George and the Reign of Chaos_!

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 7,600


	4. Betrothals

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Four – Betrothals**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

The next morning, Harry rose at six o'clock to get ready for the day. He had already packed last night, but he wouldn't be visiting Diagon Alley as much due to the fact that Greengrass Manor wasn't very close to Diagon Alley, he'd have to finish buying anything he thought he might need. Even though there were Portkeys, Apparation and the Floo in the wizarding world, meaning instantaneous travel, he'd still have to 'bother' the Greengrasses to go to Diagon Alley as Greengrass Manor was out in the countryside.

But first, he'd be having breakfast and paying the bill. After finishing his packing, with everything either in his trunk or on his person, he dragged his trunk downstairs. Tom was, as usual, already making breakfast, as he was used to Harry rising early and eating early. "Good morning, Tom," Harry said. "I'd like to check out today. Here's my room key, and I think I've stayed here for eleven nights. How much is that?" He put the room key onto the counter, and took out his money pouch.

"That'll be fifty-five Galleons, please," Tom said. "Do you want breakfast before you leave, or will you be having breakfast somewhere else?"

"I'd like to have breakfast here, please," Harry said, taking fifty-five Galleons out of his money pouch and placing them on the counter. "I'll have toast with butter, please. Also, would it be possible for me to leave my trunk behind the counter until around two in the afternoon? I have business to attend to, and as I don't want to be dragging my trunk around all day, I'd like to leave it here. I'll be back to pick it up at two." Tom agreed, and Harry finished his breakfast before going back into Diagon Alley.

That morning, he spent the time wandering around Diagon Alley. Since he had decided to start his subscription to the _Daily Prophet_ on September 1st, he bought himself a copy of that day's _Daily Prophet_. Once he was done reading about that day's news – a new book coming out, a possible affair between two people, a Mister White and a Missus Landringham, both of whom were supposed to be happily married – he decided to pass the rest of the time at Flourish  & Blotts, and maybe buy a couple of new books.

Flourish & Blotts was, as usual, full of people. This time, Harry bought only two books, both of which were Muggle storybooks. These were clearly written a long time ago, as the language was a bit odd, but the books still appeared like new. Once he had paid for them, he walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. He would have lunch there, and then pick up his trunk, before Flooing to Greengrass Manor at two. If there was still time after lunch, he'd try to go and find 'thank you' gifts for the Greengrasses.

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* * *

.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the fireplace in Greengrass Manor flashed with green flames again, revealing a trunk, which came tumbling out and landed with a loud bump on the floor. Following it was its owner, Harry, who landed on the floor as well, at the feet of someone. Looking up, he realised that instead of Astoria, or 'Tori' as she liked to be called, he had landed at the feet of Isabel. "Hello, Harry," Isabel said, helping him up. She flicked her wand and the soot on his clothes disappeared.

"Hello, Isabel. Thanks for meeting me," Harry said. Isabel nodded, and then led Harry and his trunk up to the third floor of Greengrass Manor. There, she led him through what Harry thought was practically a _labyrinth_ of corridors, all with many doors that looked similar. Finally, she stopped in front of a door that looked just like all the others, except that it had a sign proclaiming this room to be 'Harry's Room' hanging on it and a green welcoming mat in front. She opened it and ushered Harry inside.

"These will be your rooms," Isabel said. "If you ever want or need to stay with us, these will be your rooms as well. Just settle in, unpack if you want, and come downstairs when you're done. We'll be in the lounge, same as last night, so just call for Pinky and she'll show you the way if you don't know it. I know it can be slightly confusing to those who have just moved in, or those who are simply here for a short period of time." She then exited the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Harry alone.

Taking a step so he could look around properly, Harry saw that it was somewhat similar to a Muggle hotel suite. When you stepped in, there was a short hallway that led you to a small sitting room/kitchen with three armchairs surrounding a coffee table, and a proper, if rather small, kitchen. It wasn't as good as the one in Harry's trunk, of course, or even the kitchen back at No. 4 Privet Drive, but it still worked and was good enough, considering it probably wasn't used very often, if ever.

Beyond that, there was a door that led to the bedroom. There was a double bed with clean white sheets on it in the furthest corner from the door, taking up about a quarter of the space. A nightstand stood next to it, with an empty water jug and water glass on it. On the opposite wall from the bed, a wall-length wardrobe stood, holding quite an amount of racks, drawers and hangers. There was a pair of slippers inside the wardrobe, which Harry set out next to the bed so he could wear them that night.

On the wall opposite the door between the sitting room/kitchen and the bedroom, there was a bathroom. This had its own bathtub and separate shower, which were next to each other, along with a toilet and a marble sink with a countertop. There was a place to put towels on, which had four fluffy white towels so far. A toothbrush, toothpaste and a glass was sitting on top of the sink countertop, along with a bar of soap. A mirror was above the sink, so you could see your reflection as you washed your hands.

Once Harry was done exploring, he tidied himself up – brushed his hair, cleaned his glasses, straightened his clothes and so on – and, feeling slightly strange, called, "Pinky!" into the air. Immediately, Pinky – the Greengrasses' house-elf – appeared with a _Crack!_ in front of him, and bowed. "What would young Master Harry like Pinky to do?" she asked. "Would young Master Harry like Pinky to show young Master to the lounge? Mistress Izzy, Mistress Daffy and Mistress Tori are in the lounge."

"Yes please, Pinky," Harry said. Pinky then quickly set off for the lounge, and after going through the 'labyrinth' again, he finally reached the lounge.

"Good afternoon, Harry," Isabel said, when he stepped through the lounge door, looking up. She, Daphne and Astoria were sitting around a large table, which was covered in pieces of parchment, books and quills. Daphne and Astoria were both reading books, while Isabel was writing something on a piece of parchment. Once the two younger girls heard their mother greet Harry, they both looked up and followed suit. "Come sit down at the table. How's the room? Is it to your liking?"

"Yes, thank you," Harry said, pulling up a chair and sitting down opposite Isabel. "Thank you for inviting me to stay."

"Oh, it's no bother," Isabel said. "Now, as you've arrived, we thought we might make a start on planning for the betrothal ceremony, which I'm sure we discussed last night, after dinner and just before you left. It's a rather important matter for both House Potter and House Greengrass, and as many people will be invited, this is even bigger. We're currently aiming for the betrothal ceremony to happen before you and Daphne start at Hogwarts, so we're currently thinking it should be the weekend before."

"It's the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth, if you're wondering," Astoria called out.

"Yes, thank you, Astoria," Isabel said to her youngest daughter, before turning back to Harry. "That gives us about three weeks to organise it, meaning we'll have to work hard to get this all done. I wouldn't be surprised if some people couldn't come and declined our invitation, due to the extremely short notice. I think we'll have enough people there, though, to make this a 'big event'. Plus, many people will want to see you, as this is the first opportunity they've gotten in ten years."

Harry blinked. "That sounds reasonable," he said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well, we've already started on the planning," Isabel said. "Usually, a big social event like this would be planned by the ladies, in the ladies' parlour, but as you're involved, we'll be planning it here. I'm currently writing down a list of people that are too important _not_ to invite, as well as a few people that must be invited, such as our family members and close friends. If you have anyone you particularly want to invite, just tell me. Of course, we've invited all the members of the allied Houses."

"Basically, reading books that have anything to do with ceremonies in general," Daphne said, looking up from her book.

"Now, as you've never had any experience with anything like this, you'll be starting off with some basic learning," Isabel said, holding up a slim book titled _An Introduction to Wizarding Ceremonies_ and handing it to Harry. "You're to read this, and pay attention to the part about betrothal ceremonies. I won't be testing you on this knowledge, but I'll assume you know it. That will save time, as we won't have to explain things to you along the way. After you're done, come to me again."

Harry nodded, and, taking the book, began to read. According to the book, betrothal ceremonies were a normal step in the 'road' leading to marriage in contracted relationships – relationships that were already arranged through a contract. They made the betrothal official with the Ministry of Magic in whichever country the future spouses were a citizen of, as well as binding, unless there was a clause in the contract that stated there were escape routes for either or both parties, even after the betrothal ceremony had occured.

This ceremony wasn't 'just' a ceremony, either. There were no limits to how old or young the participants were, as long as they could both walk up the aisle by themselves and perform the 'bonding' part – an exchange of blood, showing that they both accepted each other would be part of each other's lives for as long as they lived. This was also a sort of 'pre-marriage', and could be performed any time before the wedding, even an hour before if you suddenly wanted a betrothal contract before you married.

Harry also learned that he and Daphne were around the 'desirable' age, Hogwarts age, to perform this. Nowadays, only those of a very traditional family wanted this to happen when their child was still a child, while those of a more modern mindset preferred to perform this ceremony when their child was a teenager, if they still wanted to have a betrothal contract. Some wizards and witches, especially Muggleborns, didn't use betrothal contracts nowadays and instead just married without one.

At four o'clock, it was time for afternoon tea, which they ate while discussing other matters. "It's time to relax now, then we'll get back to work later," Isabel said firmly. "That means we'll not even _think_ about the betrothal while we're having tea." At four-thirty sharp, though, Pinky came to take everything away, and the four got back to work. Sometime around five, Cygnus came in and welcomed Harry to the house, then headed to his study to do more 'work'.

At eight o'clock at night, Isabel deemed that they had 'done enough work for the day', and the four of them, plus Cygnus, ate dinner together, which was just as delicious as last night's. After that, Daphne and Astoria were told to go and prepare for bed, and Harry chose to go as well after chatting with the older Greengrasses for a while. As he lay in bed and drifted off, he smiled as he realised he finally had a place to call 'home'.

.

* * *

.

The next day was yet another 'work day' for the three Greengrass girls, plus Harry. While Harry had been merely learning all he could about betrothal ceremonies and what was going on social-wise with the upper echelons of magical British society yesterday, the girls hadn't been doing that. Isabel had spent yesterday making lists of people to be invited, booking the venue, and planning the after-ceremony party, while Daphne and Astoria had been helping plan the after-ceremony party as well.

"Why not plan the ceremony first?" Harry had asked.

"Because we don't get much say over that part," Isabel replied. "The ceremony is to be kept 'traditional', meaning that it's already planned out. We only get a say about where it's to be held, who sits where and what runes we want. Most of the runes have already been decided, but we get to choose some of our own, as well. I've booked the venue – Merlin's Church – and we'll only be deciding who sits where once everyone we're inviting has replied in the affirmative. That won't be for at least a week, though."

"I see," Harry replied. "So, what have you decided on for the party?"

"Well, the party will be held here, at Greengrass Manor," Isabel said. "The theme will be similar to a wedding, and we've already arranged to 'rent' more house-elves, as we simply won't have enough, even with us calling all the house-elves from all the Greengrass properties to Greengrass Manor. We've decided that us five, Minister Cornelius Fudge and his wife, Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore will have to be at the top table. Each table can seat twelve, meaning that four others will be seated at the top table with us."

Harry made a face at that. " _Must_ Dumbledore be at the top table with us?" he asked. "I have no desire to be anywhere _near_ the man."

"Yes, Harry," Isabel said firmly. "As Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Headmaster of Hogwarts, as well as being a holder of the Order of Merlin, First Class, due to his achievement of defeating the Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald, he's too important _not_ to have at the top table. It would be a public slap in the face for Dumbledore, as he's also your 'supposed magical guardian', as you put it. Why the 'supposed', though?"

"Because he hasn't been acting like one," Harry said. "He's been the complete opposite, which is why I just don't want to be anywhere near him unless I must."

"Well, this time is a 'must', I'm afraid," Isabel said. "Don't worry, the tables are just where everyone will be sitting during the formal part of it. During the actual party, you'll be free to move about if you want." She reached over and passed Harry a sheet of parchment, with a paragraph written on it. "However, that's just the party. This is the important part: the ceremony itself. I need you to memorise this speech, and Daphne, you'll need to memorise the other part." She passed Daphne a sheet of parchment.

Harry looked down at the sheet of paper, upon which was written: _In the name of Merlin, I, Harrison James Potter, promise that I will one day take thee, Daphne Isabel Greengrass, as my wife, according to the ordinances of Merlin and holy Church. I will love thee even as myself. I will keep faith and loyalty to thee, and so in thine necessities aid and comfort thee; which things and all that a man ought to do unto his espoused I promise to do unto thee and to keep by the faith that is in me._

"We haven't got a detailed plan yet, but we do have a general plan," Isabel said once Harry and Daphne were both finished reading. "You two will come down the aisle together, stopping in front of the altar and turning to face each other. Harry will say his speech first, then Daphne, before both of you prick your fingers and let seven drops of blood drop out into a bowl. Then, place your fingers back in, take back seven drops of blood magically, and exchange rings. Then, it will be over and you two walk back down the aisle."

"That sounds like a wedding," Daphne said. "Well, without the blood-exchanging part and with a priest to read out something."

"It's basically a pre-wedding, so I suppose it should be sort of similar at least," Isabel said. "That's where the two people involved promise each other that they will marry one day, even if it's years or decades later. However, there are some aspects of weddings that are left out in the betrothal ceremony, or parts that are added in the betrothal ceremony that aren't there in weddings." She then produced a small stack of books, sorted them into two stacks, and handed a stack each to Harry and Daphne.

Harry lifted the book that was on the top of his stack. _A Basic Guide to Runes_ , the title said in fancy lettering. He took a look at the other books in his stack, all about runes. The book at the bottom was titled, _Runes for Betrothal Ceremonies_ , giving Harry the biggest clue as to what these books were for and why Isabel had given them to him. Looking up at Isabel, he asked, "So these are books about runes, to help us plan what runes we want, out of the ones that we can choose?"

"That's correct, Harry," Isabel said, sounding pleased. "We're allowed to choose seven runes of our own, as seven is a magically powerful number, so I'll let you and Daphne choose three each and we'll all decide on the final one together. When you've decided on the three that you want, tell me, and I'll write it down on this piece of parchment and put it in the 'ceremony' section. Same goes for you, Daphne. Astoria, keep on planning the after-ceremony party. What have you decided on so far?"

"Well, the main theme will be betrothals and weddings, of course," Astoria said. "As you said, it'll be held here, at Greengrass Manor. We've decided that the important people can Floo here, but everyone else can either Apparate or take the Knight Bus to just beyond the wards and walk here. We'll have to give them all the Apparition co-ordinates, and give the people in the first group the Floo password. We'll have to key them all in to the wards temporarily, as well as adjust the wards so they can't get upstairs or anything."

Time flew by as Harry immersed himself in the books Isabel had given him. Soon, he had chosen the three runes he wanted: happiness, love and prosperity. Once Daphne had chosen hers, the four of them – Astoria demanded to be included – chose the final one, which was luck. An odd choice, but it worked and none of them could see why not. It wasn't usually added to the runes in betrothal ceremonies, which was why it was an odd choice.

But by the end of the day, they had managed to finish a lot of things: what the runes should be, who was to be invited, the menu for the party, a more detailed plan for the ceremony and the party and who the priest for the ceremony would be (a distant relative of Daphne's with some experience in betrothal ceremonies, who only agreed to do it because he wanted to meet Harry). As they were done with a lot of it, Isabel said that the three of them – Harry, Daphne and Astoria – could have tomorrow off to relax.

"You can go wherever you like, as long as you three stick together and are back by five," Isabel said. "Pinky can Side-Along Apparate the three of you there and back."

"Let's go to Diagon Alley!" Astoria squealed. "Mum, can we go to Diagon Alley? I heard they have this season's style of robes in Madam Malkin's. They're not that expensive compared to the boutiques in Paris or New York, so I'd rather get them at Madam Malkin's. Daphne, you want to go to Diagon Alley too, don't you? We could also meet up with Tracey and Susan, and maybe Neville and Hannah and Luna, if their parents agree and Mum lets us." She turned to her mother with puppy-dog eyes.

"Of course you can meet up with your friends in Diagon Alley if you want," Isabel said. "Harry, is that fine with you? Tracey Davis, Susan Bones, Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott and Luna Lovegood are all Daphne's and Astoria's friends, so if their parents agree then you can meet them tomorrow on your 'outing'."

Harry shrugged. "That's fine with me," he said. "I've already met Susan and Neville, and I like them both. I look forward to meeting Misses Davis, Abbott and Lovegood."

Daphne frowned. "We'll have to Floo-call them first," she said. "I'll call Tracey, and she can ask her parents. Mum, can you come with me in case Tracey's parents want to know more details?" Isabel nodded, and mother and daughter went off to the Floo room. Meanwhile, Astoria headed upstairs, presumably to her room, and Harry decided he would find something to eat in the kitchens first. Then he, too, returned to his room to prepare for bed.

.

* * *

.

The next day soon dawned, and Harry rose, stretching and smiling at the same time. It seemed like the two days he had spent here, at Greengrass Manor, had passed by faster than two hours at the Dursleys' had. It was a lot more fun here, there were people that cared about him here and he was treated much better here. Plus, today would be especially fun – he hoped – as it was a trip to Diagon Alley with his betrothed, his future sister-in-law, and several friends, two of which he hadn't seen for a week.

As Harry was thinking about it and preparing to go out, someone started knocking relentlessly on his door, only stopping it to reveal Astoria, who quickly said, "Everyone'll be joining us today, hope it's okay with you, Mum said to tell you not to disturb Dad, see you in the Floo room at eight, Pinky'll bring you breakfast soon, bye." With that, she was gone. Soon after she had come and gone, Pinky turned up, holding a large tray with two slices of toast, bacon, eggs and a Butterbeer.

"Your breakfast, young Master Harry," Pinky said in her high-pitched voice, bowing. "Pinky will put it on coffee table." She popped away, and when Harry emerged from his bathroom, having just finished showering, he saw the tray was sitting there. He ate his breakfast – it tasted pretty good, as usual – before getting dressed for the day. He put on a set of casual green robes, with a white shirt and black pants underneath, and took his money pouch before going downstairs to the Floo room.

"Good morning, Harry," Daphne said once he entered.

"Good morning, Daphne," Harry said, just as Pinky and Astoria entered, with Pinky trotting along behind Astoria.

"Hi, Daphne! Hi, Harry!" Astoria said excitedly. "Isn't this trip going to be fun? I can't _wait_ to see everyone again! We haven't seen them in so long! I wonder what they've been up to. Do you think Tracey brought us back anything from France? Ooh I hope she brought us chocolates. I _love_ chocolates from France." Without waiting for an answer from the two older kids, she turned to Pinky. "Pinky, you do know that you're taking us to Florian Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, in Diagon Alley, right?"

"Yes, Mistress Tori," Pinky said, holding out her hands. "Hold onto Pinky's hands and I be taking you." They reached for Pinky's hands, with Harry and Daphne on one side of Pinky, and Astoria on the other. That meant Harry was between Pinky and Daphne, like a long chain. "Ready, Mistress Daffy, Mistress Tori and young Master Harry?" Everyone replied in the affirmative, Pinky nodded. With a loud _Crack!_ like house-elves always made when Apparating, she Apparated them away.

Harry felt Pinky's and Daphne's hand twist away from him and re-doubled his grip so he wouldn't lose them. The next thing he knew everything went black; he was pressed very hard from all directions; he could not breathe, there were iron bands tightening around his chest; his eyeballs were being forced back into his head; his ear-drums were being pushed deeper into his skull. Then Harry took several large gulps of air, and found that he was outside Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Daphne asked. "Side-Along Apparation can have a very strange feeling, especially for the first time, and sometimes people vomit when they first try."

Harry nodded, showing he was fine, and sat down in a chair. Taking several deep breaths, he found that the feeling of being 'squashed' had gone away, and so had the urge to vomit. Looking back up, he found that Daphne, Astoria, Neville, Susan and three other girls he didn't recognise were sitting or standing nearby, staring at him. He supposed the three 'new' girls must be Miss Tracey Davis, Miss Hannah Abbott and Miss Luna Lovegood, as Astoria had mentioned them maybe coming along yesterday.

One of them had wavy brown hair that tumbled halfway down her back, which was held back from her face with a silver headband. She had blue eyes that were slightly lighter than Daphne's, although at first glance they were the same shade, and wore casual green robes, with a white shirt and a black skirt underneath. She also wore a silver necklace with the Slytherin snake on it, and black boots. "I'm Tracey Davis," she said. "Call me Tracey, if we're going to be friends we should be on a first-name basis."

The one standing next to her, although slightly behind Tracey, had wavy dirty-blond hair, which although it wasn't as long as Tracey's, it was nearly the same length. She had pale silvery eyes, and wore earrings that were shaped like Dirigible plums. She had a necklace made of Butterbeer corks around her neck, and wore a set of casual sky-blue robes. Underneath, she wore a green shirt and a white skirt, and what appeared to be normal school shoes. "Luna Lovegood," she said dreamily. "It's nice to meet you."

The last 'new' girl had blond hair that went a little past her shoulder blades, and dark blue eyes that were nearly violet in colour. She wore tiny diamond earrings in her ears, which were barely noticeable unless you looked closely at her ears, and a set of casual purple robes. Unlike Tracey, Luna and Susan, she had no necklace around her neck, like Daphne and Astoria. She wore a blue shirt and a black skirt under her robes, and black boots. "It's nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Hannah Abbott, but call me Hannah."

"It's nice to meet you, Tracey, Luna and Hannah," Harry said. "And it's nice to see you again, Neville and Susan."

"Well, now that we've finished our introductions, what do you think about eating ice-cream? I know it's a bit early in the morning to be having ice-cream, but I heard that Florian Fortescue's got a new flavour that only came out yesterday, and it's half-price today as it's a weekday and not many people come on weekdays, mostly weekends," Neville said. "Plus it doesn't hurt that I'm craving Fortescue's ice-cream, as I haven't had any for a while because Gran says I shouldn't eat too much ice-cream."

Everybody laughed at that. While the group was starting to head into Fortescue's, Pinky tugged on Harry's sleeve. "Young Master Harry, Pinky will be going now. Pinky will be back when you call," she said. Harry nodded, showing that he had heard, before following the group into Florian Fortescue's. There, the seven other eleven-year-olds were gathered around a copy of Fortescue's menu, showing the types of ice-cream and the prices of different sizes, as well as some special deals.

After the group had ordered the ice-creams they wanted, with over half the group choosing Fortescue's new ice-cream – Chocolate & Cream – they sat down outside to enjoy their ice-cream. Harry himself was one of those that had ordered Chocolate & Cream, and he thought it was pretty good. Fortescue's ice-cream tasted better than any ice-cream he had ever tasted back in the Muggle world, during the few times he had been allowed ice-cream.

Once everyone had finished their ice-creams, they went around to the different shops. At one point, they split up so that Daphne, Astoria, Luna and Hannah could go to Madam Malkin's, while the boys and Susan went to Quality Quidditch Supplies. There, Susan spent a lot of time staring at the latest broom, the Nimbus 2000. "It's supposed to be the fastest broom on the market," she said excitedly. "Auntie won't let me have it though, as she says it's too dangerous for me to be racing about by myself."

By the end of the day, Harry was sorry to leave his new friends. They went back to Fortescue's, where Susan and Hannah were picked up by Hannah's mother, Neville was picked up by his grandmother, Luna was picked up by her oddly-dressed father and Daphne, Astoria and Harry were picked up by Pinky. Before the first of the adults arrived, Susan asked if everyone was fine with sitting together on the Hogwarts Express. Everyone said it was fine, and they agreed whoever got there first was to save a compartment.

Once the three children arrived back at Greengrass Manor, they found Cygnus and Isabel in a good mood. When asked why, Isabel replied, "Everyone's replied to their invitation already, meaning we'll have more time to plan. Most people have answered 'yes', as there are some who simply couldn't make time for it, so we'll only have to make slight adjustments to the plans we've already made. Of course, tomorrow will be a planning day, so I hope you enjoyed your day out."

"We did," Harry replied, and Daphne and Astoria agreed with him. The five then had dinner together, as they usually did, before heading back to their own rooms. When Astoria complained that it was much too early to go to sleep, Cygnus and Isabel told them they would find it much easier to fall asleep than they thought. Harry realised this was true, as he fell asleep almost immediately when his head hit the pillow. That night, he was so tired from his day out that he didn't have any dreams.

.

* * *

.

The next day, Isabel informed them that it would be a longer work day, as while many had replied to their invitations, some had yet to reply, especially those who were overseas or those that lived far away. They would have the morning off, then an early lunch, and start work after that. "We have quite a lot to plan," Isabel informed them. "This is the first big social event that you've been seen at for ten years, and with three hundred guests, give or take, we'll have to plan everything to make sure it is perfect."

"What're we gonna plan first?" Astoria asked.

"The seating," Isabel said, pulling two large sheets of parchment from a stack. One was a list of names, with some that were scored out, and the other was a map of the church they were going to perform the ceremony in. There were ten rows, which held thirty seats: fifteen on the left of the aisle and fifteen on the right. "We, as Daphne's immediate family, will be in the front row," Isabel said, tapping the map. "It's customary to have family and friends in the front row, too."

"Right, so Tracey, Neville, Susan, Hannah and Luna," Daphne said. "And their immediate family or guardians, of course."

"So the Davises have four, as Tracey has an elder brother, two for the Longbottoms, two for the Boneses as it's just Madam Bones and Susan, five for the Abbotts as Hannah has an elder brother and sister, and two for the Lovegoods," Harry said. "That's eighteen seats if you count Cygnus, Isabel and Astoria, as there's fifteen of them. That's enough to give them a half-row to themselves. Do we have anyone else that I don't know about in their families, or is that everyone in their immediate family?"

"That's all," Daphne replied. "That means we have twelve more seats, which is annoying as there are thirteen Heads of Departments. I haven't counted the DMLE, as Amelia's already been counted. Plus, Mum will insist we need the Minister in the front row _and_ his Senior Undersecretary, so if we count those two, we'll have twenty seats filled. We can't have any close relations either, as they'll be offended if we only put some in and not all of them, and the next family gathering will be very awkward."

"What about the Wizengamot elders?" Astoria asked as Isabel wrote the names of the people in the front row onto the map. "They're not that bad, and there are only nine of them, so they'll all fit into the front row. The rest of the Wizengamot can sit somewhere else, as there are forty-three members and won't fit into the rest of the front row. Then, we just need to fill one more seat to make thirty, and the front row will be sorted." She reached for the list of names, and asked, "What about Dumbledore?"

"What about him?" Harry asked.

"Well, he would be a good idea for the front row," Isabel said. "He's Chief Warlock, Headmaster of Europe's premier wizarding school, Grand Sorceror _and_ Supreme Mugwump of the ICW. He's also an Order of Merlin, First Class, holder and he's known as the defeater of Grindelwald, the worst Dark Lord in history. He's probably the most powerful man in Britain, both magically and politically, and one of the most powerful in the wizarding world. It would be rude not to put him in, even if you don't like him, Harry."

"Fine," Harry said, sighing. "That's at leas the front row sorted. What about the other nine rows?"

"Well, the Heads of the various departments in the Ministry will have to be placed there, as well as the more powerful members of the Wizengamot," Isabel replied. "There are members like Lucius Malfoy, who while doesn't have a Seat in his own right, is in control of the Seat of the House of Black and is the 'leader' of the Dark faction. He, for instance, will have to be placed in the second row, and a seat left for his wife, Narcissa, as the two of them have both replied in the affirmative."

"And I think for the third row, we should put some relatives," Daphne said. The four continued discussing who was to sit where, until they had agreed on where everyone was to sit, and Isabel wrote all of the names down on the map. Then, they turned to discussing the party afterwards, which was what Daphne and Astoria were in charge of. Yet again, they had to decide who was to sit where, as there were smaller tables this time, although there were more tables.

At eight o'clock, when Astoria was choosing clothes for Harry and Daphne to wear at the after-party and Cygnus was in his study 'hiding from the preparations', Isabel drew Harry and Daphne aside. "Now, I know that you've been very busy and there isn't much time to do other things, but I think it would be best if the two of you got together to practise the speeches. We'll have a practise ceremony when we've sorted everything out, but I think that practising the speeches together would be a good idea."

The pair agreed, and once Isabel had gone to see what Astoria's final decisions for Harry and Daphne's outfits were, they arranged a time to meet to practise their speeches together. They planned to meet in Daphne's room tomorrow night, once they had finished work. Hopefully they would be done with the bulk of the planning by tomorrow night, as Harry was growing very tired of all these arrangements. They helped Astoria with the final decisions, then bid each other goodnight and headed to their rooms.

.

* * *

.

Without Harry even noticing, the twenty-fourth soon arrived. The night before, Isabel sent Harry and Daphne off to bed at eight, while she, Cygnus and Astoria would continue working to double- and triple-check the plans, so they were very well-rested. On the day of the ceremony, everybody was up by seven, as Isabel insisted on getting up at that time, even though the ceremony was only at two in the afternoon. Isabel seemed particularly nervous, even though it wasn't even _her_ that was going to be in the ceremony.

While the five of them were sitting down to breakfast, Isabel suddenly remembered that she had arranged for Harry and Daphne's group of friends and their families to come to Greengrass Manor at eight-thirty and immediately dashed off to find a room that they could all get ready in. In the end, after she had spent quite some time debating between two rooms, she decided on using the largest spare guest bedroom, which would probably be able to accommodate everybody. If not, they could use the room beside it as well.

At eight-thirty sharp, Tracey and her parents arrived through the fireplace. There were three of them, as Tracey's brother, Thomas, had chosen not to come: Lord Robert, Lady Naomi and Tracey. Upon arrival, Robert immediately headed off with Cygnus, while Naomi and Tracey followed Isabel to the 'dressing-room'. There, Astoria was already helping Daphne with her hair, so it would be easier to deal with when putting Daphne's hair up after they had decided on the hair style.

Eventually, after a very long discussion between Isabel, Naomi, Tracey and Astoria, they managed to decide on Daphne's hair style. Isabel would be working on Daphne's hair, while Naomi did Astoria's. As Harry's hair didn't need to be put up into a style like the girls' did, he was just given a brush and a large bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and told to make his hair tidier. According to the bottle of Sleekeazy's, it would tame his unruly hair into something smooth and sleek and easily manageable.

Once Harry reappeared out of the bathroom, his hair now nice and smooth, Luna had appeared. "Where's your father?" Isabel asked when she saw that Luna was by herself.

"Oh, he's at home," Luna said. "He has to finish this month's edition of the _Quibbler_. Don't worry, though, he's left some space for the ceremony."

Once Naomi was finished with Astoria's hair, she came over to Harry and pulled a clear potion from her robes. "This is for your eyes," she said, holding it out to Harry. "It gives you perfect eyesight for twenty-four hours, which is more than enough to last until tomorrow, when you'll have to go back to wearing eyeglasses. Isabel and I thought it would be perfect, as you look much better without your glasses. You can take it now if you like, as you only need it for the rest of today."

"Thanks," Harry said, taking the potion bottle. "Is there a permanent solution, though?"

"Well, if you want a long-term solution there's always spells," Naomi said. "You can get them done at St. Mungo's, and afterwards you can see perfectly for the rest of your life. Of course, you can always take permanent potions, or get Muggle contact lenses, but those are more tricky. Potions don't always work, and Muggle contact lenses are both inconvenient and hard to find in the wizarding world. I can help you get an appointment with a good Eye Healer at St. Mungo's if you'd like."

"Thanks, but I'll have to think about it," Harry said.

Soon, Susan, Hannah and Neville had arrived with Neville's grandmother and Hannah's family. "My aunt's busy with work, but she'll be at the ceremony this afternoon," Susan told them when Daphne asked her where her Aunt Amelia was. "She says she's got some urgent parchmentwork to finish for a case." As the room was getting rather crowded, Isabel called Harry and Daphne over and handed them a set of black robes with runes inscribed all over them each.

"Go and get changed into these," Isabel said, holding them out. "You can wear whatever you like underneath, as you just need to wear these for the ceremony. Afterwards, we'll be coming back here, and then you can get changed into your dress robes. Harry, I assume you have proper dress robes for the party?" When Harry nodded, she continued, "Alright, so that's one problem sorted. Oh, and if you see Astoria, tell her to get changed as well, and then come and find me. I haven't seen her in about an hour."

The pair found Astoria gossiping with Tracey in the living room, told her what Isabel had said, and then went off to get changed in their respective rooms. Harry had finished getting changed into his runed robes, with a black shirt and pants combo underneath, when there was a knock on his door. When he opened the door, he found Daphne standing there, holding a set of floaty, periwinkle-blue dress robes and a pair of silver dancing shoes.

"Hi, Harry," she said. "I've come to see what you're going to be wearing at the party tonight. Where are your dress robes?"

"Oh, they're here," Harry said, pointing to where they were lying on an armchair. "Are those blue dress robes you're carrying the ones you're going to be wearing at the party?"

"Of course," Daphne said, looking around for a space to put down her dress robes. Finally, she decided to put them down on a spare chair, put the shoes next to the chair, and went over to have a look at Harry's black dress robes. "Also, are those the only dress robes that you have, or do you have others as well? And do you have any accessories that are a similar colour to my dress, so we can match? Maybe a blue bow-tie or something, or even a pair of dark blue shoes?"

"I've got navy-blue and bottle green dress robes as well," Harry said. "Madam Malkin said that those colours would suit me, so I don't think I have any that are periwinkle-blue like yours. And I've only got a white bow tie, I'm afraid, and no blue accessories that would match your dress. I also haven't got any silver shoes, nor blue shoes, but I do have a similarly coloured shirt. You can come and have a look at it, if you want." He gestured towards his bedroom.

After rummaging around in his wardrobe, he managed to locate the shirt, which was similarly-coloured, and a pair of dark blue shoes, to his surprise. "It's alright, Harry," Daphne said. "I'll just call for Pinky to change the colour of your shirt and shoes so they match. Don't worry, we can change the colour back to how your shirt and shoes are, once the party's over. Pinky!" And soon, Harry found himself the owner of shoes that matched her dress (the shirt barely changed colour).

.

* * *

.

Lunch was a brief affair, just a bowl of tomato soup each and some garlic bread to go with it. Nobody really felt like eating a lot, as there would be a party in a couple of hours, and anyway, everyone was still busy. According to Daphne, the party would last until ten or eleven at night, and as everything involving high-ranking officials did, there would be lots of glasses of champagne and wine and drunk people, who would occasionally do some very silly things.

"But you've got to watch out for some people though, as it's not just laughter and fun all night," Daphne warned. "Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, is particularly nasty. Nobody can stand her, really, and I don't think the Minister can either. However, she has a lot of blackmail material on a lot of important people, so she's managed to rise through the ranks quite quickly. Rumour has it that she's even got something very big on Albus Dumbledore, and more on the Minister."

"Okay, so avoid her as much as possible," Harry said. "Anyone else that you think I should watch out for?"

"Albus Dumbledore, I suppose," Daphne said. "Very powerful man, but, as you've told us, very manipulative and interfering. Lucius Malfoy, the leader of the 'Dark' side politically and the leader of the Darker Houses of our society. He's a Death Eater, but he was never convicted, as he was one of those who claimed they were under the _Imperius_ Curse. He also has the ear of the Minister, or, as many like to put it, he's the one who tells the Minister what to do."

"Is there going to be an equal mix of Dark, Grey and Light families?" Harry asked.

"Well, it'll probably lean heavily towards the Light, as that's where House Potter currently stands," Daphne replied. "There aren't a lot of Grey Houses, but the ones that are important are invited, as well as some others. The Dark Houses are very politically powerful, as they were more prepared after You-Know-Who fell, and managed to get themselves or their puppets into important positions. However, not all of them are Noble, or even Ancient."

"I see," Harry said. "What makes a House Noble and Ancient, anyway?"

"Well," Daphne said. "As you might know, the Noble and Most Ancient Houses are descended from the twelve knights of King Arthur's Round Table. Arthur, as you might know, did not have any children, as Guinevere ran off with Launcelot and Arthur never re-married. However, his twelve knights all took magical wives and that's basically how the twelve Noble and Most Ancient Houses appeared. They can trace their ancestry back the furthest, which is why they're Most Ancient.

"Next, the Ancient Houses. These can trace their ancestry back quite far, although the trail stops about five hundred years after the time of King Arthur in most cases, so about a thousand years back, or the same as Hogwarts. Elder Houses can trace their ancestry seven hundred years back, Minor can only trace theirs back three hundred years and Lesser can trace their ancestry in the wizarding world back for at least three generations, as it takes that long to prove the bloodline can 'hold' in the wizarding world.

"Finally, the Noble Houses. Houses are only Noble if they have a seat on the Wizengamot, or if they have a noble ancestry in the Muggle world. However, the latter one is much rarer than the first one. If a Noble House dies out, they are replaced by a non-Noble House, who will instantly become Noble. That's how the Dark side has so many seats – they were prepared to argue for them after You-Know-Who was defeated. The Noble status can only be taken away if something like treason is committed, or your family dies out."

"Well, that's a lot of information to take in," Harry said. "I wonder why it isn't provided in those books that I bought from Flourish & Blotts?"

"Probably because those books are written for Muggleborns and those that are Muggle-raised," Daphne said. "They don't need to know that, as they are very unlikely to be ennobled or gain a seat in the Wizengamot due to their family name. However, those who have Orders of Merlin are also seated on the Wizengamot, but very few people earn those. I think there's been less than ten in the last two centuries, especially the Order of Merlin, First Class."

"I'm sorry to interrupt you two, but it's nearly time to go," Cygnus said, approaching the couple where they sat on the sofa. "Meet us in the Floo-room, please."

.

* * *

.

Albus Dumbledore had spent the past couple of weeks rejoicing, and today he was even happier than he had been for the past weeks. While his plans for young Harry and the Greater Good had been temporarily derailed when Harry had run away from the Dursleys' residence. He had immediately rushed to check his trackers, but they only signaled that he was under strong wards, and could not be tracked. That probably meant he was in the Manor of an important family, which made him start to panic.

However, upon asking Minerva McGonagall, his deputy and Head of Gryffindor, he found out that Harry had accepted the invitation to attend Hogwarts. "Yes, Albus, he'll be coming, although I have no idea where he is at the moment," Minerva had said. "Look, I'll read the letter out to you: _Dear Professor McGonagall, Thank you for the invitation to attend Hogwarts. I would be pleased to accept, and look forward to seeing you on the 1st of September. Sincerely, Harry Potter_. Does that help you?"

"Yes, thank you, Minerva," Albus said. Then late one afternoon, a grey owl carrying a fancy letter had arrived for him, with similar letters going to Minerva, Pomona Sprout (Head of Hufflepuff), Filius Flitwick (Head of Ravenclaw) and even Severus Snape (Head of Slytherin). Opening the letter, he found an invitation addressed to him, inviting him to the 'betrothal ceremony of Heiress Daphne I. Greengrass and Heir Harrison J. Potter', giving him a clue as to where Harry was and where he had been for the past week.

Of course, he had accepted. He didn't like the idea of Harry being housed with a traditionally neutral family, especially one who wasn't under his control, but this would give him the opportunity to see him. That meant he would be able to meet Harry, and hopefully start the wheels turning of the plan that would lead to Harry becoming the weapon of the Light against Voldemort. This would be difficult, but he had seven years to do it in, and it wouldn't hurt to start early.

By twelve o'clock in the afternoon on that day, he was ready. He had carefully put on a set of dark purple robes with golden trim, as well as a silver shirt underneath and black pants. He put on his half-moon glasses, brushed his beard to look his best – he was a firm believer in the fact that first impressions were very important – and headed down to the staff room. Minerva, Filius, Pomona and Severus were already gathered, all wearing dress robes or at least, fancy robes.

"Hello, Albus," Minerva said, picking up the pot of Floo powder. It was a little Muggle flowerpot, but instead of flowers, it was partly filled with a bright green powder – Floo powder. "We've been waiting for you before leaving. Are you going to Floo straight to Merlin's Church, or are you going somewhere first? I'm planning to meet my friend for lunch first, so I won't be going with those who are going directly to Merlin's Church, and Flitwick will be going to meet up with somebody else too."

"I have a appointment at Gringotts," Dumbledore said. "I have several vaults I need to check on, one of which is the Hogwarts vault. I see we're getting low on Floo powder, so I'll pick up some money from the Hogwarts vault and buy some first." The appointment with his Account Manager was absolutely necessary, as it would allow him to check up on how much gold there actually was in his vaults, especially after he bought several sets of robes a couple weeks ago.

"So, Pomona, only you and Severus will be going to Merlin's Church, then," Minerva said. "Will you leave now or a while later?"

"Well, probably a couple of hours later, then," Pomona said. "I don't know the Greengrasses particularly well, and as I've never met young Mr. Potter, I don't think I would have anything to do if I were to turn up a couple of hours early. Don't worry about me, Minerva, you go and have your lunch with your friend and enjoy yourself. You work too much as it is, and deserve to have some fun." Minerva nodded, and handed the pot of Floo powder to Dumbledore.

"Thank you, Minerva," Dumbledore said. He took a little Floo powder from the pot, noticing that there was very little left. That was probably because it was easier for staff members to Floo to and from Hogwarts, instead of walking to Hogsmeade and Apparating. Then, he tossed a pinch of Floo powder into the fireplace, and when the flames turned green, called out, "The Leaky Cauldron!" before stepping into the flames and vanishing.

.

* * *

.

By one o'clock, the Greengrasses and Harry – along with their friends and their families – had arrived at the venue. While the party would be back at Greengrass Manor – all the Greengrass house-elves from all the various properties around the world, as well as many house-elves that were on loan for the day, were busy setting up the Great Hall for tonight's party – the betrothal ceremony would be here, at a rather famous church named Merlin's Church.

Merlin's Church was a very famous church in the wizarding world. Many witches and wizards had gotten married and betrothed here, especially those from old pureblood families, so Isabel had immediately thought of it as the perfect place for tonight's ceremony. It was completely hidden from Muggle eyes, so only those with magical blood could see it or even know of its existence. All Muggles saw were the ruins of a building that had police tape all around it, and were compelled not to try and enter by wards.

However, the church itself was quite nice to those who could see what it truly looked like. It was painted white, with a clock in the shape of the yin-yang symbol on the bell tower – which still stood, though it hadn't been used for decades. There were white marble steps leading up to the entrance, where pots of saffron flowers were neatly placed, one pot on each step. The yin-yang symbol, which symbolised the Light and Dark sides of magic, was also painted on the door.

Once you stepped in, there was a hallway which had a large fireplace. That was where visitors were meant to Floo from if they couldn't Apparate, and where visitors could Apparate into. Then there was a large room, which was where the actual ceremony would take place this afternoon, as it was the only 'ceremonial room' that was in use in Merlin's Church. There were ten rows of numbered seats, with numbers 1 to 15 being on the left, while 16 to 30 were on the right.

At the front, there was an grey marble altar. This was engraved with runes that Harry couldn't read and hadn't seen before. A stone bowl with a spike at the bottom rested on the altar, presumably brought in by the priest that was to preside over Harry and Daphne's betrothal ceremony later that afternoon. The walls, which were painted white to match the outside of the church, were also carved with runes that spoke of a happy language and which Harry could read most of.

Once the rather large group walked in, Isabel waited until everyone had sat down before clapping her hands and calling for attention. "Well, we've got a little work to do first, before the guests arrive," Isabel said. "We have pots of blue violets, roses and jasmine flowers to be placed around, as well as this schedule that each guest is to have on their seat. All the seats will be full, of course." Snapping her fingers, she called for Pinky to bring the schedules that were in the lounge.

Soon, Pinky was back, clutching a large pile of schedules which she immediately handed to Isabel. Isabel then handed some to Harry, some to Daphne and the rest to Astoria to place on each seat. Then, she produced a map of the room which was covered in her handwriting and consulted it to find out where to place her pots of flowers. These pots were charmed to be Unbreakable and match the flowers, and Isabel soon had them placed around the room with help from Naomi.

After each seat had an invitation neatly placed on it, and all the flowers were ready, everyone else except for Harry and Daphne were sent to get changed into their robes in the bathrooms at the back of the church. While these bathrooms looked very small from the outside, they were actually quite big inside due to the space expansion charms employed. According to Neville, the bathrooms were almost three times as large as they looked from the outside.

At one-forty-five, the guests started to arrive. As witches and wizards Apparated or Flooed in – with some opting for a hair-raising ride on the Knight Bus – house-elves walked amongst the guests, carrying glasses of Butterbeer, water, pumpkin juice or tea on trays for people to take as they wished. As they approached the door to the ceremonial room, a specially hired wizard checked people's invitations to make sure they were on the guest list, before letting the guests in so they could take their seats.

Meanwhile, Harry and Daphne were in a little chamber off the main room. It was mostly empty, apart from a couple of armchairs that the pair were sitting in and a clock above the door. Like the rest of the church, it was painted white. Their instructions were to wait until two-oh-five, when all the guests were sitting down in their seats, before coming down the aisle together with Daphne on Harry's arm, as appropriate. Then, the ceremony would commence.

At the arranged time, Harry and Daphne both stood up from where they were sitting and made their way to the door to the main room, with Daphne on Harry's arm. As they entered, a romantic song started up as they proceeded to the altar, accompanied by the audience's clapping. When they reached the altar, both the music and the clapping died down, and Harry and Daphne turned to face each other. The priest, who was also dressed in runed robes, stood behind them and in front of the altar.

Taking a deep breath, Harry recited his speech, then Daphne did the same. The priest then held out the bowl and they took turns pricking their fingers and dripping seven drops of blood from a wound which magically healed. Placing their fingers back into the bowl of blood, they could now feel their mixed blood entering their fingers. Finally, the priest held a red cushion out with two white-gold rings on it. Harry and Daphne exchanged rings, and turned to face the front as the priest made his speech.

Once the priest was done talking, the two of them walked back down the aisle as the music played again and everybody clapped. They were betrothed.

.

* * *

.

Two hours ago, Dumbledore arrived at Gringotts. Gringotts was exactly the same as always, so as witches and wizards made way for him and pointed him out to their children, he entered and headed towards the tellers. Dumbledore heard all the whispers: "See? That's Albus Dumbledore! He's the Leader of the Light, the most brilliant wizard of the century, the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of and the defeater of Grindelwald. He'll be your Headmaster when you get to Hogwarts in a few years' time."

Dumbledore smiled to himself, basking in the attention that he craved. This was what he loved most about his trips into the public places of Magical Britain, and why he preferred to be seen amongst the masses rather than going directly to his destination. He had started getting this kind of attention even back when he was at Hogwarts, for his brilliant results and his breakthroughs in Transfiguration and occasionally other subjects, and had become addicted to it.

Walking up to the nearest goblin teller, he said, "Good afternoon. I wish to see the Dumbledore Account Manager, please, and I would like to pick up some money from the Hogwarts vault. I have an appointment." He smiled at the goblin, who instead of smiling back, wrote something on a piece of parchment and dropped it into a box. That was the way the goblins sent messages to each other while in their offices, or the goblin version of interdepartmental memos (the purple paper airplanes).

"Please wait for someone to come and take you to him," the goblin said. "You may not go down yourself, nor will I take you down. You can wait for another goblin to come and take you. Next!" Dumbledore was forced to step aside and wait for a 'runner' to come and fetch him. This was how things worked in Gringotts, as wizards couldn't operate the carts to the vaults by themselves and tellers refused to leave their posts. Dumbledore didn't like it much, as he was forced to wait, but he couldn't do anything about it.

Soon, another goblin came up to Dumbledore. "Are you Albus Dumbledore?" the 'runner' asked. When Dumbledore nodded 'yes', the goblin said, "Follow me then, please. The Dumbledore Account Manager is currently unavailable, but Director Ragnok would like to see you instead." The expression on the goblin's face was serious, and Dumbledore knew that Ragnok simply wanted to see him, and not just because the account manager was unavailable. What had he done wrong?

Dumbledore was then led by the goblin to Director Ragnok's office to meet him. He was basically the Minister of Gringotts, and so had a very fancy office. The goblin knocked politely on the door, and a voice called, "Come in!" The goblin opened the door and ushered Dumbledore in, bowed to the Director, and exited. He closed the door behind him, so Dumbledore was left alone with Ragnok, who he hadn't seen in years. "Hello," Ragnok said. "I would say it's nice to see you, but I don't think it is. Sit down, please."

Once Dumbledore sat down, Ragnok immediately produced a large black file marked 'Dumbledore', and flipped to a large section labeled 'Albus P. W. B. Dumbledore'. "Do you know what this is?" Ragnok asked. When Dumbledore shook his head, Ragnok said, "It's a record of everything you and your family have done to offend Gringotts or any of our high-ranking customers. As you can see, yours is double or maybe even triple the length of your family members' sections."

"What did I do to offend you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, you _do_ know that Heir Harrison 'Harry' James Potter is one of our high-ranking customers, don't you?" Ragnok asked, a smile – and not a pleasant one at that – spreading over his face as Dumbledore grew a little pale. "Ever since he came into Gringotts for his first meeting ever, courtesy of your withholding information about the wizarding world from him, your section has increased greatly, while our respect for you has diminished greatly. _Now_ do you know what you've done to have such a large section in the book?"

"I–" Dumbledore started to speak, but Ragnok held up a hand and went on.

"I don't want to hear your excuses, Dumbledore," Ragnok said. "You _know_ what you did to the boy, whether it be through action or inaction. I want to hear the truth, so that I can decide what to do with you. So that you can't accuse me of doing anything to you, a Dicta-Quill will be here to record everything that you say, and I will be putting up a Truth Ward to make sure you can't lie. I'm a busy goblin, and I have better things to do than listen to you try to escape punishment."

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well, if you feel that you must," he said, seeing no way to get out of this. The goblins were well-known for their talent with wards and their reputation for making some of the best in the world, and this Truth Ward would be no exception. There was also no antidote to this, like Anti-Veritaserum, as goblins didn't use truth serums as they weren't allowed to buy them and were unable to make them as they were missing a key ingredient that was only on sale to those that were Ministry-approved.

By one-forty-five, the meeting concluded and Ragnok let down the Truth Ward. He pulled a certificate from a pile behind his desk, wrote something on it before stamping and signing, and handed it to Dumbledore. "This is a certificate of vault closure," he replied. "You have twenty-four hours to take everything from your vaults, before we seal them until another takes the Headship. As the House of Dumbledore is not a Noble and Most Ancient House, we are well within our rights to do so. Goodbye, Dumbledore."

"But–" Dumbledore started to say, but Ragnok called out something in Gobbledegook and two heavily-armed goblins appeared. They each took hold of one of Dumbledore's arms and escorted him all the way to the front door for all to see, then slammed the door in his face. Dumbledore sighed, hoping the day would go better later, and thinking of possible places to store his valuables. He then went back to the Leaky Cauldron and immediately Flooed to Merlin's Church.

.

* * *

.

The party started at two-thirty, with everyone managing to appear on time. Those who were allowed to Apparate directly in did so, those who were not Apparated to just outside the front gates, those who had cleared it with the Greengrasse first used the Floo network and the rest used the Knight Bus, but all managed to arrive. They were greeted by the same wizard as the one at the betrothal ceremony, who checked their invitations once again, and house-elves arrived to show them to their seats.

There were ten large tables scattered around the Great Hall, which had been decorated by the house-elves in the theme of weddings and betrothals, and the people were seated according to which row they had been sitting in during the ceremony. That was why Harry and the Greengrasses were sitting at the Head table with everyone else that had been seated in the front row during the ceremony, with Harry and Daphne sitting next to one another.

Once the party started, Cygnus decided to introduce Harry to the people that he didn't know. As everyone was keen to meet the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry soon managed to meet everybody at least once, and worked hard to remember everyone's names and the little facts and gossip he heard about them. Some were distant relatives, some were family friends, and many people were here because they were simply too important or high-ranking to not be invited to such an important event.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore, who was seated at the Head table, was continually glancing around the room while chatting idly with the Minister. Where _was_ Harry? He had been sitting here for the past two hours, trying to find the boy so that he could speak to him, but it was very difficult to speak to somebody who you hadn't even seen. In these two hours, Harry had been away from the Head table, making it difficult for Dumbledore to start a conversation with him. Surely he would have spotted him by now, though.

Suddenly, he spotted Cygnus Greengrass, Harry's future father-in-law, leading Harry about and introducing him to people. He was heading back to the Head table and was currently with Lord Tiberius Ogden, one of the Wizengamot elders, so Dumbledore spotted an opportunity to meet Harry. Cutting across the Minister's long and boring account of his last conversation with a woman he fancied, Charlotte Ogden – Tiberius Ogden's youngest granddaughter – Dumbledore asked, "Have you met Harry Potter yet?"

Fudge blinked. "Excuse me? Oh! You're talking about Mr. Potter, aren't you? Well, he's a nice boy, if a bit shy. But if you're his magical guardian, shouldn't you know?"

Dumbledore fidgeted uncomfortably. This was what he had been a little afraid of: admitting that in the past ten years that he had been Harry's magical guardian, the most time he had spent with him was a few hours, and that was only because he wanted to check over the fragment of Voldemort's soul lodged in his scar. Otherwise, ever since he had placed Harry at the Dursleys' home, he had rarely seen the boy. Usually, he just used his monitoring instruments to make sure that he was alive and still at the Dursleys'.

"Of course I know him," Dumbledore said. "I'm his magical guardian, after all. I think that out of all the people in this room, the Greengrasses aside and maybe his friends, I know young Harry the best. I just wanted to ask if you had met him yet, and what your opinion was of him." Clearly, he wouldn't be able to get any information out of Cornelius without looking very suspicious. "Do carry on about young Miss Ogden. What did she say after you asked her out to lunch?"

"So then, she said, 'I'm sorry, Minister, but I don't think it would be very appropriate for me to go to lunch with you', so I told her, 'Of course it's fine! I don't mean any harm to you'," Cornelius droned on. Dumbledore then took the opportunity to check around for Harry and Cygnus. Fast approaching, this time with Madam Longbottom and her only grandson, Neville Longbottom. One of Harry's friends, he remembered, as he had been placed in the front row. Soon, the pair approached him, and he rose to greet them.

"As you probably already know, Harry, this is your so-called magical guardian," Cygnus said. "Albus Dumbledore, who will be your Headmaster at Hogwarts come September."

"Good afternoon, Lord Greengrass and Harry," Dumbledore said. "It's nice to finally see you after a while. How has your time with the Greengrasses been?"

"I'm sorry, Headmaster," Harry replied. "But I don't recall giving you permission to call me by my first name. As for my time at the Greengrasses, they are treating me very well. Certainly better than my maternal aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, whom you placed me with after I was orphaned. It's wonderful to finally find out how a family is supposed to treat each other: as proper relatives, not as servants they can order about. But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?"

"Er..." Dumbledore stuttered.

"Save it, Albus," Cygnus said. "We don't need to hear your excuses. Now that you've met, I think it would be best if Harry and I were to take leave and greet others. It's tea-time soon, Harry, and you won't want to miss it. The house-elves have been making a marvellous feast, and I think it would be a shame to miss it just because of this old man who claims to be your magical guardian. Daphne will also be missing you, and you know that she'll be wondering where you've got to."

"Very well," Harry said, following Cygnus away from Dumbledore and to their seats, which were conveniently on the opposite side of Dumbledore's.

The rest of the evening, for Harry, turned into a blur. While he didn't like the politicking that was always going on and couldn't be avoided outside of his 'friend circle', especially as Fudge and Dumbledore were sitting opposite him, he enjoyed the food and having fun with his friends. Daphne and Astoria between them managed to tell Harry all the gossip that he 'absolutely _had_ to know', even if Harry didn't think it was very useful. However, he learnt a lot of not-so-secret secrets and information about people.

Then, in the evening, there was dancing. Harry usually danced with Daphne, but occasionally somebody would ask to dance with Daphne, leaving Harry to ask somebody else. It didn't hurt, as they knew he was betrothed and wouldn't flirt with him. Besides, Daphne was always nearby. The first time she had seen a girl flirting with Harry – who was a couple years older and whose grandfather was on the Wizengamot – named Keira Fawcett, she glared at Keira for the rest of the night and went to 'have a talk' with her later.

All to soon, the clock struck midnight, and witches and wizards started to leave. Harry, of course, simply _had_ to say goodbye to everybody, as Daphne told him it was tradition. Dumbledore, on his way out, tried to convince Cygnus to allow him to come over to Greengrass Manor whenever he liked to discuss 'matters too important to tell anybody else' with Harry, but Cygnus refused. Then, he asked to meet Harry once every couple of days before Hogwarts, but both Harry _and_ Cygnus refused.

"You're going to see Harry soon at Hogwarts, Albus," Cygnus said. "I really cannot see the need for you to discuss important matters with Harry. And what matters could there be that are too important to discuss with me, who has sat on the Wizengamot for two decades, but are suitable to discuss with an eleven-year-old boy who has yet to start at Hogwarts? No, Albus, if you have anything to say to Harry, write it down in a letter and send it to Greengrass Manor. I will make sure it gets to him."

"Alas, I cannot," Albus said, with a sigh. "Very well then, if you will not be reasonable, I will take my leave." And he left a very unhappy man.

.

* * *

Hey guys!

Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites! I'm sorry if you think it's a lot like "Angry Harry and the Seven" by Sinyk, but it will change quite a lot later on. There's a betrothal ceremony in this one, for one thing. Credits to Sinyk and his story, "Angry Harry and the Seven", for the inspiration for the shopping trip and first few chapters. And for guest reviews, I can't answer unless you use your real account, so if you want to ask a question then please use your real account.

So, as you might be able to guess, the next chapter is going to be the betrothal ceremony, which means the Malfoys and the Weasleys will appear. I've already decided that it's going to be Molly, Ginny and Ron bashing, so if you don't like this stuff then you don't have to read on. I'm still deciding whether Draco should be Harry's friend or arch-nemesis. Please review and tell me what you think!

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 13,100


	5. Welcome to Hogwarts!

Disclaimer:Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Five – Welcome to Hogwarts!**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

The next week soon flew by for Harry. As there was no more work to do, Harry spent the last week enjoying himself. He went to Diagon Alley to meet up with his friends again, and there he managed to bump into one of Daphne's cousins, a pretty Eurasian girl named Cho Chang. She was Daphne's first cousin, as her mother was Rose Greengrass, who was Cygnus' younger sister by two years. However, Cho was a year older than Harry was, and was due to start second year at Hogwarts the following week.

The day before they were due to leave was a very busy and hectic one, as the Greengrass ladies and Harry were running around, trying to find the things that Daphne and Harry needed for Hogwarts, while Cygnus locked himself in his study to finish answering his owl post. Daphne had also misplaced her Hogwarts shoes, and the four of them looked for hours. Eventually, Daphne managed to fit everything in her trunk, with anything extra going into Harry's, as he had a mini-apartment there and had a lot of extra space.

Eventually, the morning of the first of September arrived. Everybody rose at nine o'clock, to make sure they arrived in plenty of time. Cygnus had managed to borrow a Ministry car, which was an old-fashioned dark-green car, driven by a furtive-looking wizard wearing a suit of emerald velvet. Cygnus sat up front with the driver, who hardly spoke a word, while Harry and Daphne were seated at the back. Astoria would be staying behind at Greengrass Manor, as she didn't feel very well, and Isabel was staying with her.

The Ministry car was, to Harry's surprise, quite comfortable. It looked like a normal car, but it could slide through gaps that Harry doubted normal cars, no matter how small, could slide through. They could jump to the head of a traffic queue without any trouble in a few seconds, and dodge and weave through heavy traffic. As a result, the three of them arrived at King's Cross Station at ten-thirty, with half-an-hour to spare. They decided that they would go in early and find a carriage first.

The Ministry driver, who still hadn't spoken a word this whole time, found them two nice, working trolleys and unloaded Harry and Daphne's trunks. Harry had already sent Hedwig ahead of him and had placed her cage inside his trunk, and Daphne didn't own an owl as she wasn't that fond of them anyway, and was planning on getting a cat instead of an owl. The driver then touched his hat to Cygnus and drove away, somehow managing to jump to the head of a traffic queue.

Harry was then about to ask how they were meant to enter Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, as their Hogwarts Express tickets had said, because they had reached an empty place between Platforms Nine and Ten. However, he was interrupted by a slightly plump red-haired woman and her five children – four boys and one girl – who were all red-haired like her and were all pushing trolleys, except for the girl. The woman was saying loudly to her children, "Packed with Muggles, of course. Now, what's the platform–"

But she didn't get any further before Cygnus interrupted her by walking up to her, Harry and Daphne in tow, and casting a Muggle Notice-Me-Not around them. He then asked, "Mrs. Weasley, may I ask what you think you are doing?" When the red-haired woman, Mrs. Weasley, blinked at him and didn't answer, Cygnus continued, " _I'll_ tell you what you're doing – breaking the Statute of Secrecy! You were talking so loudly about Muggles, everybody here can hear you. You're lucky it's so noisy here."

Mrs. Weasley stared at Cygnus, dumbfounded. "But... but... Dumbledore asked me to," she said. "He said that young Harry would need help to get onto the platform."

"Even if he does, that's what my daughter and I are here for," Cygnus replied. "My daughter is his betrothed, and she is perfectly capable of helping him. I am in charge of them as their guardians, and if Dumbledore thought Harry needed help, he should have contacted me." He gestured Harry and Daphne forward. "Now, Harry, you can go first with Daphne. The Weasleys can follow, and I'll be behind them to make sure they don't attempt to break the Statue again." He glared at the Weasleys.

"Come on," Daphne whispered to Harry. "Go straight at the barrier that divides Platform Nine and Platform Ten, or you can run if you're a bit nervous. I was nervous too the first time I went, when Mum and Dad showed it to me one day. It's there." She pointed at a part of the wall. Harry stared at it, which looked exactly like the other parts of the wall. "Look, I'll go first, then you can follow." She walked to the barrier, then slid through it, making sure nobody saw her. Soon, she had disappeared completely.

By then, Cygnus had dropped the Muggle Notice-Me-Not and people were starting to jostle Harry. He walked straight at it – then more quickly – he was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble with everyone — he leant forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of his control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the loud crash — It didn't come.

Instead, when he opened his eyes, he found he was standing on a platform. The barrier, which was now behind him, had turned into a wrought-iron archway with 'Platform Nine and Three-Quarters' written over it, and it was slightly foggy behind it. The platform was packed with people – many dressed in robes, although some were in Muggle clothing – and a scarlet steam train waited next to it. A sign overhead read 'Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock'. He had done it.

He turned to Daphne, who was waiting nearby. "That wasn't too scary, was it?" she asked. "Come on, let's get out of the way before the Weasleys or Dad crash into us." One by one, the Weasleys came through the barrier: first, the eldest boy, who had glasses and a Prefect badge on his robes; next, the identical twins who looked a couple of years older; the youngest boy, who had lots of freckles and something black on his nose; and finally, the girl who looked like she was pre-Hogwarts age and her mother.

Then, Cygnus came through and led Harry and Daphne away and towards the Express. "You should probably find a compartment first," Cygnus said. "Leave your trunks with me, and I'll look after them. That should be easier than dragging them down the train." They nodded, and went off to find a compartment for them and their friends. They didn't see Luna or Neville, but eventually, they came across a compartment that already had Susan, Hannah and Tracey sitting inside, chatting.

Daphne knocked on the door, and the three girls looked up. Susan beckoned them inside and patted the seats next to her. Once they were in, Harry glanced around the compartment. It wasn't very big, with only eight seats, which lined the walls and was separated by a table in the middle. There was a window at the far end, opposite the door, and above the seats there were luggage racks to put their trunks in for the duration of the journey. The three girls had already placed their trunks on the luggage racks.

"Hello," Daphne said, entering the compartment behind Harry. "It's nice to see you again. Have you seen Neville or Luna?"

"I think I saw Neville, but not Luna," Hannah said. "He was saying goodbye to his grandmother on the platform. Where are your trunks?"

"Dad was looking after them while we found you," Daphne replied. "We're going to get them now, but we'll be back in a few minutes. If we see Neville or Luna, we'll tell them to come here." The pair went back to Cygnus, who was patiently standing where they had left him with their trunks, chatting to Hannah's father. "Thanks for looking after them, Dad," Daphne said to Cygnus. "We'll see you at Christmas, and write as often as we can. Tell Tori that as well."

"Bye, Cygnus," Harry said. "It's been really nice living with you and your family, and I'm sorry to have imposed on you so much."

"Don't worry, Harry," Cygnus said. "It was no trouble. I'll see you back at Greengrass Manor for Christmas, right?"

"If you'll allow me," Harry said. "I'd love to stay with you again." He and Daphne waved goodbye to Cygnus and went back to their friends, who were sitting in Compartment 'F', talking about that day's _Daily Prophet_. Usually, they didn't talk about it much, but today it had the headline ' _Dumbledore Banned From Gringotts_ '. After Harry and Daphne had managed to get their trunks up onto the luggage rack with some difficulty as they had to stand on the seats, they joined the conversation.

However, they had only been talking for a few moments when there was a knock on the door and Neville entered, clutching a toad tightly with his left hand and pulling his trunk with his right. "Hi," Neville said, holding his toad out to Harry. "Could you help me look after Trevor while I put my trunk up on the luggage rack? He keeps trying to escape from me, and I only just managed to prevent him from escaping last night. He doesn't seem to like me very much, you see."

"Of course, I'll take him," Harry said, and Neville handed it over gratefully.

Neville thanked Harry as he pushed his trunk up onto a luggage rack and went to sit down next to Hannah. Seating, with Harry on the left side of the door, went Harry, Daphne, Tracey next to the window, Susan opposite Tracey, Hannah and Neville opposite Harry. That left the two seats closest to the door and next to Harry and Neville. The trunks were above their owners' heads, and as all of them were already dressed in Hogwarts robes, there would be no need to take the trunks down again in order to change.

"Oh yes," Neville said to Harry suddenly. "Ron Weasley's looking for you, I think. I passed by him on the platform and he immediately asked if I knew where you were." Seeing as Harry looked confused, he elaborated, "Ronald Weasley, the second-youngest of the Weasleys, and the youngest boy. You might have met him, as he and his siblings all have very distinctive red hair. He's saying you can't possibly be betrothed to Daphne, as she's a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor. His words, not mine."

"I think I might have seen him," Harry said. "Cygnus caught his mother breaking the Statute by shouting something about Muggles on the Muggle side of the barrier, and called her 'Mrs. Weasley'. She had four boys and one girl with her, so Ronald must have been one of them. It's utter rubbish, by the way. I'm not a Gryffindor, and just because my mother and father were Gryffindors doesn't mean I'm one, too. I don't especially want to be one, either, as I'm aiming for Ravenclaw or Slytherin."

"That's what I told him," Neville said, smiling. "I told him, 'No, I haven't seen Harrison today. By the way, his betrothal to Miss Greengrass _is_ valid, even if you won't accept it. Magic has accepted it through the betrothal ceremony, and it won't change because you erroneously believe it to be false. And what makes you think that he's a Gryffindor? Just because the late Lord and Lady Potter were both Gryffindors doesn't mean Mr. Potter is one, as he wasn't even raised by them.' But I don't think he properly listened."

"Thanks, Nev," Harry said, smiling. "He was probably too busy looking for me to listen, anyway."

There was a knock on the door and Luna, the last member of their friend group, walked in with her trunk. "Hello, everyone," she said. "It's nice to see you all again." While everybody was greeting her, she put her trunk on a luggage rack and sat down next to Neville. The conversation was starting up again, still around the _Daily Prophet_ article that told everyone about how Dumbledore had been banned from Gringotts, when the Hogwarts Express whistled and started moving, amid a chorus of goodbyes from the parents.

After waving goodbye from the window, the group sat back down in their seats. This time, they started talking about the journey to Hogwarts, as none of them had ever been before. For those who were magical-raised, they hadn't even _been_ on a train before with the exception of Luna, who often went on trips with her father to look for exotic magical creatures, so they were very excited. "How long will the journey to Hogwarts take?" Susan asked.

"Mum said that it takes a whole day," Hannah said. "We'll arrive at Hogsmeade Station at about six, I think. Hogsmeade is the closest village to Hogwarts, even though it's about an hour on foot away, and significantly less if it's by carriage. It's also the only all-wizarding village in Britain, so we don't have to worry about Muggles seeing us and us breaking the Statute of Secrecy. Carriages will then take us to Hogwarts, or boats for the first-years' first trip. Then, we'll get Sorted and we'll have a Welcoming Feast."

"That's nice," Harry said after listening to Hannah. "But that wastes a whole day, when Floos, Portkeys or Apparation is much faster and only takes a few seconds. It would be much faster and less troublesome for us to be Flooed, Portkeyed or Side-Along Apparated to outside the Hogwarts gates, and then walk the rest of the way. Or, we could use magic to speed the train up so it only takes a couple of hours instead of about seven. That means we could have one more day with our family."

"It's tradition," Tracey said. "The Hogwarts Express has been in use since the mid-nineteenth century, and it's a time when students of different Houses can have fun together without any Professors there to stop them. We're also traveling quite a distance, so I think the trip _has_ been sped up with magic, at least a little. We're also travelling from the south of the 'island' where the United Kingdom and Scotland are to the north-west, so I think that it would take much longer if they didn't speed it up."

They continued on with this conversation for a while, until the door was suddenly yanked open roughly by the youngest Weasley boy, Ronald 'Ron' Weasley. He was the one who had been looking for Harry, and who had asked Neville if he had seen him. "Is anybody sitting there? Everywhere else is full," the boy said, making to sit down on the empty seat beside Harry. "It's nice to see you, mate. I'm Ron Weasley, and you met me this morning." Clearly, he was only speaking to Harry, instead of the group as whole.

"There currently isn't somebody sitting there, as that seat is reserved for anybody who could be a friend," Harry said. When Ron looked like he wanted to say something, he continued, "That means that you can't sit there. There are quite a few other compartments which have a lot fewer people, one of which has your twin brothers in it. Perhaps you should go bother them and sit with them instead of us. I'm sure they'll be more willing to have you in their compartment, at least. If not, find another, less full compartment."

"Come on, Harry," the boy pleaded. "Why are you sitting with these people anyway? It's just a Squib, Looney, slimy Slytherins and boring Hufflepuffs."

"These people are my friends and Miss Greengrass is my betrothed," Harry said. "I'd much rather sit with them than sit with you. Mr. Longbottom is of a Noble and Most Ancient House, and so is Miss Greengrass. Misses Abbott, Bones and Davis are of Noble and Ancient Houses, and Miss Lovegood is of an Ancient House. All of them are of much higher rank than you, except for Miss Lovegood, whose House status is the same as yours. However, she is of higher rank, being the Heir Presumptive, while you are only _an_ Heir."

"But I'd make a better friend, even if my House isn't of as high ranking as theirs are," Weasley said.

"Well, I think the complete opposite," Harry replied. "At least they didn't burst into my compartment, lie to try and sit with me, and then call my friends names."

"Fine," Weasley said. "But I'm not apologising to you, as I don't see why I should apologise to a bunch of losers." He stood back up and went out, slamming the door.

"Now that that drama is over, what were we talking about?" Harry asked. "Ah yes, Hogwarts. What Houses do you think you'll be sorted into?" After asking everybody, he found out that Neville and Susan thought either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, Tracey thought Slytherin or Hufflepuff, Luna and Hannah thought Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, while Harry and Daphne both thought Ravenclaw or Slytherin. That created a mix of all Houses, even if more people chose Hufflepuff as one of their choices.

"We've got all the possible combinations, save for Gryffindor or Slytherin and Gryffindor or Ravenclaw," Susan said. When asked what she meant, she clarified it, "Everybody has chosen the two Houses they think would suit them best, and out of all the possible answers, we're only missing people that would choose the combinations of either Gryffindor or Slytherin and Gryffindor or Ravenclaw when asked the question that Harry just asked. That means our group doesn't really show that many Gryffindor traits."

"It doesn't necessarily mean that, though," Hannah said. "It just means that our group tends to shy away from a combination with Gryffindor, or that we prefer the other three Houses over Gryffindor. It doesn't necessarily mean that we don't show those traits, as we can express the traits of daring, nerve, chivalry without being in Gryffindor." Susan understood, and acknowledged that as true. "Or, it could mean that we just don't want to be in the same House as Ron Weasley." Everybody laughed at that.

They had been chatting for about half-an-hour without any disturbances, when a girl with bushy brown hair and brown eyes knocked on the door, pulling a giant trunk. It was now about noon, so the train had been moving for an hour. She was already wearing her school robes, even though they were Unaligned, showing her to be a first-year. When the group looked up at her, she slid it open and asked softly, "Can I sit in here, please?" She looked like she had been crying, and was dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"Of course," Tracey said, gesturing towards the empty seat next to Harry. "What happened to you? Why are you crying?"

"I was in an empty compartment up front, reading a book," the girl began. "About half-an-hour ago, a bunch of older girls came in, laughing and chattering. When they saw me, the leader of them said, 'Get out, because this is our compartment, and we don't want you here'. But I refused, as I was there long before they came in, and I wasn't going to leave just because a bunch of older girls wanted that compartment. Then, the leader asked me who my parents were, and to which House I belonged.

"I told them that my parents were Daniel and Emma Granger, two Muggles, and I hadn't been Sorted yet, so I didn't know which House I was going to be in," the girl continued. "They laughed at me and called me names, but when I still wouldn't move, they pulled my trunk from the luggage rack and tossed it outside, and grabbed my book from my hands and did the same. I went outside to get my stuff, but once I was out, they slammed the door and locked it with some kind of magic so I couldn't get back in.

"So, I went to find other people," the girl – Miss Granger, as her parents were Daniel and Emma Granger – said. "I found a group of boys and girls, who looked like they were second-years. There was a dark-haired boy as the leader, with four other boys in the compartment and three girls. I asked if I could sit with them, but when I told them I was a Muggleborn, they laughed at me and called me names, just like the older girls in the first compartment did. That happened with another compartment, too."

"Well, have no fear that we'll do that to you, Miss Granger," Daphne said calmly, while everybody else looked shocked. "Take a seat, as you're definitely welcome here. Those people that you unfortunately met are pureblood bigots, meaning they only associate with those of so-called pure blood, and they look down upon those that aren't. Many of us don't believe in such nonsense, but unfortunately, such bigotry runs rampant through Magical Britain, as many of those bigots have high-ranking positions in the Ministry."

"Th-thank you," Miss Granger said, sniffling a bit. "My name is Hermione Granger, by the way. What are your names?"

The rest of the group quickly identified themselves, and when Harry introduced himself, Hermione gasped. "I've heard about you! You're famous for defeating Voldemort!"

Everybody, except for Harry and Luna, flinched at the mention of Voldemort's name. "I know I'm famous, Hermione," he said. "But before you say that, think about _why_ I'm famous. Yes, it's because I supposedly defeated Lord Voldemort, who had been terrorizing Magical Britain for just over a decade, on Halloween 1981. But to me, that night isn't a celebration night like it is for the rest of the world. To me, it's the night that my parents died at the wand of that psychopath, and I was sent off to my aunt and uncle."

"Oh my God!" Hermione exclaimed, and Harry could see that the others had never thought about it like that either. "I didn't think about it like that."

"Nobody ever does," Harry said. "To them, it's a time to celebrate both Halloween and the defeat of the last Dark Lord, to me, it's a time to mourn my parents."

"That's how it'll be like for me, too," Daphne said, giving him a hug. "I used to celebrate it, as did my parents, but now I'll join you as your betrothed."

"Thank you, Daphne," Harry said. "But now that we've talked about that, can we move on to other topics? Hermione, what Houses do you think you'll be Sorted into?"

"I think I'll be Sorted into either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw," Hermione said. "I want to be a Gryffindor because that's the House that both Headmaster Dumbledore and Deputy Headmistress McGonagall were in when they were at Hogwarts. Ravenclaw would also be a good place for me as I think I'm smart enough to succeed there, but I'd rather be in Gryffindor as Gryffindor students seem more accepting of Muggleborns than Ravenclaws. I wouldn't mind Hufflepuff, either, but Slytherin isn't for me."

"Well, we've found a person who would choose the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw combination," Tracey said. When Hermione looked puzzled, the rest of the group brought her up-to-date on what they were talking about in regards to the House combinations before she arrived in their compartment. She then understood what Tracey meant by finding a person who would choose the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw combination. However, she didn't understand why very few, if any, would choose the Gryffindor-Slytherin combination.

"That's easy to answer, if you know anything about Magical Britain and its beliefs," Susan said. "Gryffindors are seen as 'Light', as Dumbledore was a Gryffindor while he was at Hogwarts and he is known as the Leader of the Light. Slytherins, on the other hand, are seen as 'Dark', as You-Know-Who was a Slytherin when he was at Hogwarts. The Death Eaters, You-Know-Who's followers, were also mostly Slytherins, if not all of them. As a result, hose two Houses are seen as opposites."

"I see," Hermione said slowly. "But what about Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff? Are they seen as 'Light' or 'Dark'?"

"Neither, really," Hannah answered. "Hufflepuffs are seen as 'duffers', and Hufflepuff has a reputation for being the House that people go in if they can't get into other Houses. However, that's utter rubbish, but as Lady Hufflepuff was kind and took many into her House, that's the reputation we have. Ravenclaws are known for being smart, even if they're usually book-smart instead of street-smart. They're also seen as being slightly on the Dark side, as some Ravenclaws are pureblood bigots. Not many, but still some."

"Yes," Susan said. "To be honest, none of the Houses have the reputation they deserve. Gryffindor isn't all good, either, but their reputation is better than the one they deserve. Slytherins are seen as evil, but just because you're ambitious or cunning and ended up in Slytherin doesn't mean that you're definitely going to become a Death Eater once you graduate from Hogwarts." They continued to discuss this for a while, before moving on to Quidditch. Of course, they had to teach Harry and Hermione what it _was_ , first.

At half-past-twelve, the group heard a loud clattering coming from outside, and a smiling, dimpled woman with a cart laden with sweets and junk food slid back their compartment door. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" Harry leapt to his feet, rummaging in his pockets for his money bag, and looked at the cart. He couldn't see much that he recognised, apart from Chocolate Frogs, which Astoria was addicted to and which contained cards of famous wizards and witches that she loved to collect.

"Yes, please," he said. He looked over it again, and eventually, not wanting to miss anything, bought a little of everything and paid the woman eleven Sickles and seven Knuts. The rest of the group, except Hermione, also bought something to eat. As Harry had bought a little of everything, they could try everything and see what they liked best. "Will you be up front if we want any more food, or do we wait for you, or what?" he asked, as they were sure to get hungry later on.

"I'll be up front with the conductor, dear," the woman said. She left, and everybody tipped their food onto the table and organised it by type, before taking what they wanted.

When Luna, who was sitting opposite Hermione, noticed that Hermione wasn't eating anything, she asked, "Why aren't you eating, Hermione? You can have some too, you know." She reached for a Chocolate Frog and pressed it into Hermione's hand. "You don't have to pay us back, either. We're all friends here, and friends don't let friends go without sweets or lunch, both of which are very important. You won't get anything else until the Welcoming Feast, which will probably be around seven-thirty to eight."

Hermione thanked Luna, before eating the Chocolate Frog slowly. "Mum and Dad gave me some money, so I'll pay you back, of course," she said. "They gave me ten Galleons, or about fifty pounds. They said it was to buy anything that I needed and the money should last me the whole year, so I'll give you a Sickle each once I find my money pouch. It's somewhere in my trunk, as I didn't think I'd be needing it." She took another Chocolate Frog, slipping the card into her pocket.

The countryside, which was now flying past the window, was becoming wilder and wilder. Before, they had seen neat and tidy fields, with the occasional animal in them, but now then there were dark woods, twisting rivers that led off to who knew where, and dark green hills that stretched towards the sky. They were clearly moving away from the areas where people actually lived, and were heading towards the Scottish Highlands. Around three o'clock, there was a knock on the door, and three boys and a girl entered.

The leader of the small group, who stood in front, was a boy with silver-blond hair, grey eyes and pale skin. A girl with dark hair and eyes was on his arm, while the two other boys, who were thickset and mean-looking, stood behind the couple like bodyguards. All of them were dressed in their 'Unaligned' Hogwarts robes, and were clearly first-years like the group. "Is it true?" the leader asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" He looked directly at Harry.

"Yes, I'm Harrison Potter," Harry replied, the whole compartment growing quiet. "Who are you?"

"I'm Draco Malfoy," Malfoy, the blond-haired leader, replied. "I am Heir Apparent Malfoy, as well as being an Heir of the House of Black. This is my betrothed, Pansy Parkinson, and behind me are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle." He indicated first the girl on his arm, then the two boys behind him. Apparently, the one on the left was Crabbe and the one on the right was Goyle. However, Harry couldn't tell them apart, as they looked identical: thickset, mean and rather stupid.

"I come here to offer my hand in friendship," Malfoy continued. "I know you haven't been in this wizarding world for long, as Dumbledore sent you to live with the Muggles, but you'll soon find that some wizarding families are better than others. As you are famous in your own right due to your defeat of the Dark Lord and come from a rich, powerful and important House, you wouldn't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you with that." He held out a pale, manicured hand to Harry.

"I thank you for your concern," Harry said, shaking Malfoy's hand. "However, if you look around this compartment, I think you'll find that I _haven't_ been making friends with the 'wrong sort', as you put it. Two are of Noble and Most Ancient Houses, one of whom is my betrothed, three are of Noble and Ancient Houses and one is of an Ancient House, while one is Unhoused at the moment. By any standard, these people are _not_ the 'wrong sort' of people to make friends with. So, will that be all?"

Draco didn't turn red, but his cheeks did flush slightly. "That will be all, Potter," he replied. "I hope to see you at Hogwarts again." The four of them left the compartment, with Parkinson still on Malfoy's arm, closing the door on the way behind. A few hours later, the conductor informed everybody that they would reach Hogsmeade Station in roughly half an hour, and they were advised to change into their Hogwarts robes. However, this didn't apply to the group as they were already wearing them.

When the train started to slow down slightly, the conductor's voice echoed through the train yet again. It was getting dark by now, and when Harry peered out of the window, he could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. "We will be reaching Hogsmeade Station in five minutes' time. If you have not done so already, please change into your school robes. When you exit the train, please leave your trunks as they will be taken to the school separately. We hope that you had a good journey."

The train soon slowed down, before stopping. As soon as it did, people started pushing their way towards the exits and onto a tiny, dark platform which was rapidly overfilling as students came off the Hogwarts Express. Not knowing where to go, Harry and his friends just stood at the side of the platform, while the older students headed off towards some carriages which were waiting for them. As it was much colder here in Scotland and their robes didn't help that much, Harry hoped they wouldn't have to wait much longer.

As the last students finished getting off the Express, a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, carried by a rather large man. He had a large beard, and towered over everybody, as he must have been at least three meters tall. When they saw him, Hannah quickly told the group, "That's Rubeus Hagrid, the groundskeeper and Keeper of the Keys for Hogwarts. My elder sister Holly says that he'll be taking us first-years by boat, as he does every year for the first trip."

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Hagrid was calling while swinging the lamp. "C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" The group followed Hagrid, slippering and stumbling, down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there, as they could hardly see anything apart from the sky above them. Nobody spoke much, so all they could hear was Hagrid's voice telling them to mind their step.

Hagrid, who was leading the long line of first-year students, looked over his shoulder at them. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here."

Then, there was a loud "Ooh!" from the students as the narrow path suddenly opened out to reveal the edge of a great, dark lake. Then there was a loud "Ooh!" as the narrow path suddenly opened out to reveal the edge of a great, dark lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky just like stars themselves, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. There was a fleet of small boats sitting in the water by the shore, apparently waiting for them to get in.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called as the students rushed forward. That suited the group fine, as Harry sat with Daphne, Neville and Tracey in one boat, while Luna, Hermione, Susan and Hannah sat in the one that was right next to Harry's boat. Everybody settled down with their friends, even though some boats only contained one or two students instead of the maximum of four. Hagrid, of course, had a boat to himself. Once he saw that nobody was moving, he called, "Everyone in? Right then – FORWARD!"

As Hagrid shouted the last word, the fleet of little boats started moving across the lake, which was as smooth as glass and reflected back the stars in the night sky, as well as the great castle towering above them. All too soon, the first boats had reached the cliff where Hogwarts stood. Hagrid called, "Heads down!" and they obediently bent their heads. The little boats then carried them through a curtain of ivy and through a dark tunnel – which was behind the ivy – to an underground harbour, where the boats stopped.

"Be careful when gettin' off," Hagrid warned, as they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. "It can be slippery."

Following Hagrid and his brightly-glowing lamp, they clambered up a dark passageway until they came out onto soft, smooth and damp grass in the shadow of the castle. They walked to and up a flight of stone steps, which led to a huge, oak front door. As they gathered on the top steps, Hagrid, who was still leading them, raised a gigantic fist and knocked on the door three times. Immediately, the door swung open to reveal a tall witch dressed in dark-coloured robes. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid," Professor McGonagall said. "I will take them from here." She opened the door wide to reveal a huge entrance hall. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. In the light of the flaming torches, they could now see Professor McGonagall more clearly. She was a tall, stern-looking witch, dressed in black robes and a black witch's pointed hat, with pale skin and light green eyes.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry now remembered why her name sounded so familiar: she was, as the Hogwarts letter had stated, the Deputy Headmistress. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right, where the rest of the school must be already, but Professor McGonagall showed them into a small empty chamber off the hall instead. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

Once all the first-years had crowded in, Professor McGonagall turned to face them. "Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room.

""The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," the Professor continued, looking around at them. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the Housewith the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours.

"The Sorting Cermony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." She looked around at the crowd at various members: Weasley, who had food all over his face; the boy standing next to Weasley, whose hair was a mess; and a few others. Seeing that, Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She left the chamber, leaving the first-years by themselves.

Harry felt extremely nervous, even though he already knew what House he wanted to go into. Without him noticing, Daphne came over to him and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Harry," she said. "There's no need to be nervous. You know what House you want to go into, and you'll do well no matter what House you're Sorted into." Hearing that, Harry felt a lot less nervous, even though Hermione was making everybody anxious by whispering rapidly about all the spells she'd learnt and wondering which one she'd need.

But just then, about twenty pearly-white and partly transparent ghosts streamed through the stone wall, making people scream and jump, and most of them gasp loudly. The ghosts were talking amongst themselves, apparently ignoring the forty eleven-year-olds. "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance," a rather fat monk was saying to the rest of the ghosts. He was clutching a cup, and drinking from it as well, even though the cup was also pearly-white and partly transparent.

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights, and who was floating next to the Friar – the fat monk who had been speaking – replied. "He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost! Some people on the School Board have been trying to get rid of us since they joined the Board, and Peeves isn't helping our case – I say, what are you all doing here?" He seemed to have suddenly noticed the first-years staring at them.

Nobody answered him, and not a sound was made. Even Hermione had stopped whispering about the spells she'd learnt from the textbooks and what she might need when the ghosts first came in. "Well, they must be new students, of course. About to be Sorted, I suppose?" He smiled down at them, and a few people nodded back, although nobody said a word. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old House, you know. It's a wonderful House, no matter what other people say. I think they're just jealous, that's all."

A few seconds passed before Professor McGonagall returned. Staring up at the ghosts, who were now hovering above, simply staring at the first-years, she said sharply, "Move along now. The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." When they heard her, the ghosts started floating away through the opposite wall – probably to the large hall where the rest of the school was – one-by-one. "Now, form a line and follow me," Professor McGonagall said, waiting for them as they did so.

Once everybody had gotten into the line, Professor McGonagall started to walk away. The group was standing around the middle of the line, in the order Neville, Harry, Daphne, Tracey, Luna, Susan, Hannah and Hermione, and they also followed the Professor with the rest of the first-years. They walked back out of the chamber, across the hall and through a pair of double doors into what Professor McGonagall told them was the Great Hall. That was the room where the other students were waiting for them to arrive.

The Great Hall was both strange and wonderful at the same time. It was much larger than the hall at Greengrass Manor, and was lit by hundreds, if not thousands, of floating candles which hovered over the four long tables where all the students sat, separated by House, and the Professors' table. The Professors' table, where all the Professors were sitting and chatting while waiting, was at the top of the Hall. All five tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets, but there was no food on any of the tables yet.

Professor McGonagall then led the long line of first-years, stopping when they were in front of the Professors' table and facing the four long tables with the Professors seated behind them. Hundreds of faces looked up at the row of first-years, all of them looking like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Among the students, there was the occasional ghost that they had seen in the chamber off the hall, which shone misty silver. When Harry looked upwards, he could see a velvet-black ceiling dotted with stars.

Harry quickly looked down again, just as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool between the row of first-years and the head of the four long tables, and placed a patched, frayed and extremely dirty pointed wizard's hat on top of the stool. As the hat was set down on the stool, the whole Hall went quiet, with the older students all staring at the hat. After a few seconds of complete silence, a rip near the hat's brim opened at the hat – clearly displaying more magic – began to sing:

 _"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_  
 _But don't judge on what you see,_  
 _I'll eat myself if you can find_  
 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_  
 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_  
 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_  
 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_  
 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_  
 _So try me on and I will tell you_  
 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_  
 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_  
 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_  
 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_  
 _Where they are just and loyal,_  
 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_  
 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_  
 _if you've a ready mind,_  
 _Where those of wit and learning,_  
 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_  
 _You'll make your real friends,_  
 _Those cunning folks use any means_  
 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
 _And don't get in a flap!_  
 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables, and once everybody had quietened down, Professor McGonagall walked over to the three-legged stool, holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be Sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!" Hannah, who was now pink-faced, walked out of the line from where she was standing between Susan and Hermione, and put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down.

After a moment's pause, the hat shouted loudly, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hannah took the Sorting Hat off and placed it on the stool, before going over to the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her, as the Hufflepuff table cheered and clapped and welcomed her. Harry noticed that the edges of Hannah's robes had turned yellow, her tie had turned yellow-and-black – the Hufflepuff colours – and the Hufflepuff emblem appeared on one side of Hannah's robes. Then, Professor McGonagall called, "Bones, Susan!" and Susan made her way to the stool and the Hat.

After a slightly longer pause, the hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" again and Susan went off to sit next to Hannah. Her robes, like Hannah's, changed as well.

'Boot, Terry' and 'Brocklehurst, Mandy', the next two in alphabetical order, both became Ravenclaws, but 'Brown, Lavender' became the first new Gryffindor and 'Bulstrode, Millicent' became the first new Slytherin. After a few more first-years being Sorted, it was Tracey's turn. She sat on the stool, the Sorting Hat falling right down over her eyes, for about half a minute before the Sorting Hat called, "SLYTHERIN!" and her robes changed to match. She sat down next to Millicent Bulstrode near the head of the table.

Soon, it was Hermione's turn. She, being very excited, almost ran to the stool and jammed the Hat on her head. She sat on the stool for a full minute before the Sorting Hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR!" As a Gryffindor, her robes were edged in red, her tie was red-and-gold and the Gryffindor emblem appeared instead. Tracey's robes were edged in green, her tie was green-and-silver and she had the Slytherin emblem, of course. Hermione sat down opposite Lavender Brown, also near the head of Gryffindor table.

Immediately after Hermione was Daphne. She wasn't as excited as Hermione was, so she didn't run for the stool. After about half a minute, the Hat declared her a Slytherin like Tracey and the magics of Hogwarts changed her robes. She went over and sat down on the other side of Tracey, with Malfoy and Parkinson's 'bodyguards', Crabbe and Goyle, opposite the three girls. Harry wasn't sure how the two had managed to get Sorted into Slytherin when they were definitely _not_ cunning or ambitious, but they were there.

After 'Hopkins, Wayne', 'Jones, Megan' and 'Li, Su', it was Neville's turn. As he appeared very nervous, Harry tapped him on the shoulder and whispered, "Remember, Neville, inside that shy young boy you think you are, a courageous lion is hiding." Harry saw that Neville immediately relaxed and stood up straighter after he said that. As a result, he was Sorted into Gryffindor with Hermione. His robes now looked like Hermione's did, and he went to sit down next to her amidst claps and cheers from Gryffindor table.

Immediately afterwards, it was Luna's turn. When Professor McGonagall called, "Lovegood, Luna!" she drifted to the stool and sat down with the Sorting Hat on her head. Within three seconds, she became a Ravenclaw, which was the House she wanted to be in most, and her robes changed to match. Ravenclaw table clapped politely, as they had done for all the Ravenclaws before Luna, and she went to sit down next to Mandy Brocklehurst, who was sitting next to Terry Boot. Both were Ravenclaw first-years like her.

Malfoy's name was then called. He swaggered forward to the stool and the Sorting Hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Looking very pleased with himself, he went off to sit between his 'bodyguards' Crabbe and Goyle and directly opposite Tracey. There weren't many people left in the line of first-years. 'Moon, Lily'... 'Nott, Theodore'... 'Parkinson, Pansy' – Malfoy's betrothed, who was also Sorted into Slytherin and sat down next to him. It would soon be his turn, Harry thought.

At last, after a pair of twin girls – 'Patil, Padma' and 'Patil, Parvati', who were Sorted into Ravenclaw and Gryffindor respectively – it was his turn. McGonagall called, "Potter, Harrison!" As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. " _Potter_ , did she say?"... " _The_ Harry Potter?". The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the Hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.

"Hmm," said a small voice in his head, obviously the Sorting Hat. "You _are_ Mr. Potter, who defeated the Dark Lord when he was only fifteen months old. I've been expecting you for a while now. Quite impressive, you know, defeating the Dark Lord. Hmm... difficult, _very_ difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes – and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... What would you say if I were to put you into Gryffindor, as the Headmaster wants?"

"No, thank you," Harry thought. "I'm not sure _why_ the Headmaster is trying to influence the Sorting, but I don't like it. Ronald Weasley is obviously going to Gryffindor, though, and while my good friend Neville Longbottom is also in Gryffindor, I have no wish to be in the same dorm as Weasley for the next seven years. I know my father was a Gryffindor through-and-through and my mother chose Gryffindor over Ravenclaw, but I don't see myself as the sort of person who would be best suited to Gryffindor."

"Very well, then," the Sorting Hat replied. "Your betrothed, Miss Greengrass, is already in Slytherin and you would do well there. You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that. Miss Davis is also there as well – one of your close friends, I see, as well as the best friend of your betrothed. Slytherin and Ravenclaw are the two Houses that you would be most suited to, and you would fit in well in both. What if I were to offer you Slytherin?"

"That would be acceptable, although I still think I'd prefer Ravenclaw over Slytherin," Harry replied. "My best trait, according to my betrothed and her family, or my future in-laws, is my smartness and my near-perfect memory. Slytherin might also be too dangerous for me to be in at the moment, due to the number of children who come from families where being an Inner Circle Death Eater is the ultimate goal and who would probably support the Dark Lord, given the chance. No, I think Ravenclaw is better for me."

"Very well," the Sorting Hat said, sighing. "As I've already said, Ravenclaw would still be a good fit for you. I agree with the statement about the Slytherins, although you would do well to remember that not all of them are like that. Most of them have also been 'brainwashed' by their families, especially their Heads of House and fathers, who are most likely Death Eaters. As a result, you'd better be in RAVENCLAW!" The Hat shouted the last word out, and Harry felt the hat being lifted off his head by Professor McGonagall.

Harry walked to the Ravenclaw table and sat down next to Luna. The rest of the school was very confused, with their feelings being summed up by a pair of red-haired twins – the Weasleys, as Harry remembered – continuously asking, "We didn't get Potter?" However, once the Ravenclaws got over their intial shock, they started cheering and clapping loudly. The Grey Lady, who introduced herself as the Ravenclaw ghost, even patted his arm, giving him the feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water.

As he sat at the Ravenclaw table, he could see the Great Hall more clearly. The Professors' table was much more crowded than he thought it was, with only the seat on Dumbledore's right being empty – probably left for Professor McGonagall. Dumbledore was sitting in the middle in a large gold chair, looking rather disappointed that Harry wasn't in Gryffindor. Meanwhile, the tables were much longer, with a couple hundred students seated at each table, so over a hundred on either side.

Once the last few people had been Sorted, ending with 'Weasley, Ronald' going to Gryffindor and 'Zabini, Blaise' going to Slytherin, Harry looked down at his plate and realised how hungry he was. It seemed to have been ages since he had eaten on the Hogwarts Express, and he was certainly ready for dinner. As there wasn't any food yet and there were about a thousand students to serve, he wondered how all the food would appear on the table without needing a _lot_ of servants. By magic, perhaps?

Then, Dumbledore got to his feet, opening his arms as if he'd like to hug all of them. Beaming, he said loudly, "Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down, amidst cheers and clapping, and Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. Dumbledore clapped his hands and suddenly the dishes in front of him were piled with food, the tables groaning under the weight of it.

As people reached for the food, Harry glanced around at his fellow first-year Ravenclaws. There were five boys: Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, Oliver Rivers and himself; and five girls: Mandy Brocklehurst, Su Li, Luna Lovegood, Padma Patil and Lisa Turpin. That made ten first-years in Ravenclaw, so about a quarter of this year's intake of first years of forty students. However, there were about a thousand students in total, so Harry's year must have been unusually small – maybe due to the war.

Dinner ended after about an hour, and the food vanished, only to be replaced by desserts. There was every type of dessert that Harry could think of: blocks of ice-cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs, jam doughnuts, trifle, swiss rolls, cakes that were beautifully decorated and were in every flavour you could think of, Jell-O, rice pudding and more. Harry helped himself to a chocolate éclair, which tasted delicious.

By the end of it, Harry was felt rather sleepy. He glanced up at the High Table – the Professors' table – again to have a proper look at the Professors. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet, while Professor McGonagall was talking to Dumbledore. A man wearing a ridiculously-coloured purple turban was talking to a Professor with greasy black hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin – Professor Severus Snape, as Harry remembered from the betrothal ceremony, where he had been one of the guests as the Head of Slytherin.

Then, it happened very suddenly. Professor Snape looked past the purple turban and straight into Harry's eyes – and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead. "Ouch!" he cried, clapping a hand to his head. But just as he did that, the pain was gone as suddenly as it came. But harder to shake off was the feeling that Harry had gotten from Snape's look – a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all, although he hadn't gotten that feeling from the brief meeting at the betrothal celebration.

Immediately, he turned back to the High Table, and saw that Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. The Hall fell silent again to listen to Dumbledore speak: "Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." His eyes twinkled and he glanced at the Weasley twins, who were at the Gryffindor table.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." A few people laughed, but most people just looked very nervous.

"Now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Harry noticed that the teachers' smiles were now fixed, rather than genuine. He flicked his wand, and a golden ribbon appeared, and twisted itself into the lyrics, which floated above the tables. "Everybody pick their favourite tune," Dumbledore said, "and off we go!" Everyone started bellowing the lyrics at their own tune, and finally, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march, which Dumbledore conducted the last few lines of.

Once they had finally finished, to great applause, Dumbledore clapped the loudest and wiped his eyes. "Ah, music," he said. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" The students rose from their tables and quickly left, until there were only the first-years and a handful of older students left, two of which were Ravenclaw students as well: a blonde-haired girl and a brown-haired boy, both of whom had Prefect badges gleaming on their robes and were a good few years older than they were.

"Hello," the blonde-haired girl said, approaching them with the brown-haired boy. "My name is Penelope Clearwater, and this is Robert Hilliard. We're the Ravenclaw fifth-year Prefects this year, which means we're responsible for looking after you for the first week. I know you're all tired, so we'll only give you a few announcements once we're up in Ravenclaw Tower before sending you off to bed. Follow us, please." She turned to leave the Great Hall, and the Ravenclaw first-years stood up and followed Clearwater.

They climbed up and up and up, on moving staircases and through hidden doorways, and finally then they arrived at the top of a spiral staircase. There was a door there, which had no keyhole or handle, but a knocker in the shape of an eagle. "This is how you get to Ravenclaw Tower," Hilliard said once they arrived. "You probably won't be able to remember the way yet, so we'll show you down to the Great Hall for breakfast tomorrow. However, we'd like you to try and remember the way tomorrow morning."

Clearwater nodded along, but once Hilliard had stopped talking, she knocked once with the eagle-knocker on the door. As soon as she did, the eagle spoke. "First-years, I see," the eagle-knocker said. "Considerably less than usual, but no matter. As it's your first night, you can have an easy riddle, which you must answer correctly to pass by me. Here is the riddle: 'I am lighter than air, but even the strongest man in the world cannot hold me for more than a few minutes. What am I?'"

"If anybody knows, you can answer," Clearwater said. "Does anybody know?"

"I do," Turpin said, raising her hand. "It's your breath."

"Good job," the eagle said, and turned into a knocker once again. The door swung open to reveal the Ravenclaw common room, and Clearwater and Hilliard led them inside. It was a wide, circular room, airier than any Harry had ever seen, including the rooms in Greengrass Manor. Graceful arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue and bronze silks. As it was dark, you couldn't see anything through the windows, but they would probably have a spectacular view to wake up to next morning.

The ceiling, which was very high, was domed and painted with stars, which were echoed in the midnight-blue carpet. There were tables and chairs spread throughout the room, and in one corner, bookcases stretched up high, packed with books on various subjects. There were sofas near this mini-library, with lamps next to them for people to see by. A white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw stood in a niche opposite the door, with two staircases on either side of the niche, and it was in front of this statue they stopped.

"Well," Hilliard said, counting the heads. "There are only ten of you, which is exactly a quarter of this year's intake, which is rather small. But anyway, welcome to Ravenclaw. This House, while being slightly more focused on academic achievements than other areas, such as sports, is still a very good House to be in. It is not somewhere like Slytherin, as there is no hierarchy other than Prefect status, so we expect everybody to be treated equally, no matter what they have achieved in the past or what their blood status is."

"That means, there is to be no fighting over things like beds," Clearwater added on. "If you don't like where you're sleeping, you may ask somebody politely to switch with you. Tomorrow, we would like you to meet us down here, in the common room, at seven o'clock, as we need to be down at breakfast at seven-thirty so the Heads of House can give out the class schedules. Our Head is Professor Flitwick, by the way. He's the Professor of Charms, so you'll meet him tomorrow as Charms is required until sixth year."

"I think that's all the notices that we need to give," Hilliard said. "We will be coming up after breakfast, so you don't need to bring anything down with you. That's to allow you to get your books for the first and second classes. Now, gentlemen, if you would follow me, and ladies, please follow Miss Clearwater. Oh, and gentlemen, please don't try to get up the girls' staircase. It will turn into a slippery slide and you will be sent down. " Harry and the four other boys headed to the staircase on the left, following Hilliard.

On the first floor, they found five rooms with their names on them. Harry's was the near end of the hallway, as he was the second-last alphabetically. He entered the room, which was also airy like the Ravenclaw common room. There was a four-poster bed hung with deep blue curtains, a wardrobe and a nightstand. There was a door on the left wall, which led to a small bathroom with a shower, bathtub, sink and toilet. This must have been wizard-spaced as Harry 'knew' that Goldstein's room should be there.

As he was too tired to do much, he put his pajamas on – his trunk had been brought up and placed at the end of his bed – and got into bed before quickly falling asleep.

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* * *

Hey guys,

Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites from the last chapter – you guys are great! So some parts are from _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ – like the song – but with my edits. I changed the colour of McGonagall's robes from _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_ , where she was wearing emerald-green robes but I decided to have her wear black robes instead because it made more sense than having the Head of Gryffindor wear Slytherin-coloured robes on the first day. And in my fanfic, then Isobel MacDougal isn't going to appear, while Stephen Cornfoot is going to be a Gryffindor, to even out the numbers of having Harry as a Ravenclaw and Luna being in Harry's year instead of in the year below.

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to the nearest 100): 11,200


	6. Trouble in the Tower

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Eight – Trouble In The Tower**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

The next day, Harry woke at six o'clock, which was the time that he thought was necessary to get up. He wasn't going to start exercising yet, as he needed to get used to Hogwarts and his timetable, but since breakfast was at seven, he would use this hour to prepare for classes. He had found that over the night, someone – presumably a house-elf – had delivered timetables and a copy of the Hogwarts rulebook to them for them to find in the morning. According to the timetable, breakfast was at 7:00 to 9:30, and then they had a break from 9:30 to 9:45, and then Harry first had Defence Against the Dark Arts at 9:45 to 10:45.

At 6:50, he went down to the common room, where Luna was sitting on a chair, looking over her timetable. "Hello, Harry," she said. "I was waiting for you. Would you like to go down to breakfast now?" Harry nodded, and the two went back down to the Great Hall, the two talking about the Sorting yesterday. Down at the Great Hall, he could see that it was starting to fill up. A quick scan of the Hall revealed that while Hannah, Susan, Neville and Hermione were seated at the Hufflepuff table, Daphne and Tracey weren't there yet. Harry and Luna made their way over to Hufflepuff table, to sit down with their friends.

"Good morning, guys," Harry said as they sat down. "Why are you all sitting at the Hufflepuff table? Shouldn't we all be at our House tables instead?"

"No, Harry," Hermione said. "The rulebook says that you only need to sit at your House tables at the feasts, it says nothing about normal days. And as today is not a feast, we don't have to be at our tables. Come on, eat some breakfast. What do you have first?"

"We've got DADA with Professor Quirrell and the Slytherins," Harry replied. "What about you?"

"We've got Potions with Professor Snape and the Hufflepuffs," Neville said. "Thank goodness we're not with the Slytherins, Professor Snape is rumoured to hate Gryffindors a lot and like Slytherins, and during Potions lessons with Slytherins, he'll constantly take points for no reason from Gryffindors while giving points for no reasons to the Slytherins. And when Slytherins are being hateful towards Gryffindors, he'll turn a blind eye and practically encourage them."

"Why are we even with Gryffindors this year anyway?" Susan asked. "Normally, Gryffindors have classes with Slytherins, while Hufflepuffs have classes with Ravenclaws. No offence towards Gryffindors, I'm just curious about this."

"Holly told me that they were trying a new experiment," Hannah said. "In past years, the bigotry and hatred between Gryffindors and Slytherins has become even worse than before. Pureblood Slytherins still think that purebloods are meant to be the uncontested rulers, and Gryffindors strongly oppose this. So this year, they're mixing it up so sometimes then Gryffindors are with Hufflepuffs and sometimes they're with Ravenclaws and sometimes with Slytherins. They originally thought that Gryffindor students and Slytherin students shouldn't have any classes together, but someone pointed out that the bigotry might grow worse that way."

"How?" Hermione asked. "If that had happened, then wouldn't that stop fighting?"

"Well," Hannah continued, "that way, then Gryffindors would pass their ideas of Slytherins being evil to other Gryffindors, and Slytherins would pass their ideas along too, and since they don't have any contact, they wouldn't know the truth. Then the bigotry would get even worse."

"That makes sense," Daphne said, suddenly sitting down next to Harry. Tracey then appeared too, sitting down next to Daphne. "Good morning, everyone. Sorry we're late, but we couldn't remember the way to the Great Hall and had to ask someone."

"It's fine," Luna said. "You've got DADA with us for first lesson, do you want to go together? Neville, Hermione, Susan and Hannah have Potions together, so we'll be going to different places, unfortunately." Then they turned to the topic of the Sorting, while eating breakfast – the food was pretty good, in Harry's opinion. When they had finished, they decided that they would go to class early instead of finding somewhere to go for the fifteen minutes in between the end of breakfast and the start of class. Luna turned to them and said, "Do you want to meet at the side of the lake, under the oak tree, at break?"

"Sure," Harry said, and the other six nodded agreement. "Break's after Potions or DADA, and it lasts for fifteen minutes. See you then." The group split into two – Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins – and headed in their different directions. Potions was in the dungeons, and DADA was in Classroom 3C, so they parted ways as soon as they came out of the Great Hall.

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Harry, Daphne, Tracey and Luna continued to the third floor after they had waved goodbye. Classroom 3C was on the third floor, as the name suggested, off the Serpentine Corridor, in Hogwarts Turris Magnus, which was the name of the tower. Hogwarts Turris Magnus, as a portrait near the classroom told them, was one of the largest towers in Hogwarts and also contained Classroom 7A, which was the Arithmancy classroom and right next to Classroom 3C; Professor McGonagall's office on the first floor; the staffroom which sometimes existed around the corner of Classroom 7A; the Lost Wands store and the Ghoul Studies classroom. When the four of them looked out of a nearby window, they could see that the tower was next to the Viaduct Entrance, and overlooking the Suspension Bridge and the Training Grounds.

"H-hello," Professor Quirrell stammered. "Y-you're very early. W-w-what are y-your n-n-names?"

"Hello, Professor Quirrell," Daphne said. "My name is Daphne Greengrass, and this is Harrison Potter, Luna Lovegood and Tracey Davis."

Harry looked at Professor Quirrell, and suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his scar. "Ouch!" he cried, and the other four people looked at him. "It's nothing, my scar just hurt."

"Oh yes, the famous scar..." Professor Quirrell hissed. This time, he didn't stutter or anything, and the strange thing was, it didn't sound like Professor Quirrell. Plus, Harry noticed, his mouth wasn't moving – which left two options: One, Professor Quirrell was a ventriloquist and he couldn't speak in anything but a hiss when he was using ventrioloquism; or Two, Professor Quirrell was possessed by some kind of spirit, evil ghost or demon.

While he had been in the bookstore in Hong Kong, he had seen an English book on evil spirits – and as it _was_ one of the not-so-many English books, plus it was a topic that he hadn't read about yet – he decided to read the book. There had been a whole chapter dedicated to Possession By Spirit, and it had instructions on how to recognise someone that had been possessed, and what to do in those cases. One of ways to spot a possessed person was if they spoke in a strange voice, without their mouth moving. Professor Quirrell was certainly acting in that way.

"Oh, I see," Luna suddenly said, to everyone's surprise. "Hello, Lord Voldemort. Harry, Daphne, Tracey – Quirrell's possessed by Voldemort."

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* * *

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Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore was currently sitting in his office, pondering about what to do with the boy in question, Harry Potter. According to Ron Weasley, Harry Potter had refused to be friends with him, or even sit with him in the same compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Instead, he had decided to become friends with a group of people whose parents and family members were people that were definitely not Dumbledore supporters. What was he supposed to do about this?

And his plans for creating a betrothal contract between young Ginny Weasley and Harry had been torn into pieces by that betrothal ceremony. Why hadn't the Greengrasses told him before the invitation came? He was Harry's magical guardian, after all, even if it had been gotten illegally. And since they had formally recognised the betrothal now, there was no way to break it, unless the Greengrasses had another child, and it had to be a boy. And _that_ would never happen unfortunately, as Isabel Greengrass was unable to bear any more children.

Sometimes Albus _really_ felt like screaming out loud and clutching his head, as he thought of what to do about his plans for the Greater Good. Why did his plans that dealt with powerful people always go wrong? He had had a plan to take over the world with Gellert Grindelwald, that had failed as the two of them had had different ideas about how to take over. Gellert had been a strong fan of using violence, while Albus had always preferred working from behind the scenes and manipulating people. And who had been right?

Back to the trouble of Harry. And the boy _had_ to get sorted into Ravenclaw! Why couldn't he been a Gryffindor or at least, a Hufflepuff? At least he wasn't a Slytherin though, it would have been even harder to get Harry to sacrifice himself on the altar of the Greater Good if he had been in Slytherin– Albus stopped, as Lady Hogwarts herself warned him that there was trouble going on in Hogwarts Turris Magnus. Well, maybe swooping in to save the day on the first day of term was what he needed to cheer him up a little.

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* * *

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Back at the DADA corridor, Daphne then knew they were in great trouble. It was going to be at least ten minutes before any student came along, and there was no chance of Professor McGonagall hearing either, as she was probably off to her Transfiguration classroom. There were currently no ghosts around, no house-elves, and the portrait that was supposed to be here was gone. There didn't seem to be anyone around.

"Ah, Miss Lovegood," Quirrell hissed, and this time it was even closer, and came from Quirrell himself. "I knew of you. Your father was well-known for thinking you had prophetic powers, I see that must be true. But anyway, there isn't anyone to save you four now. It's a real shame, Miss Greengrass and Miss Davies, as I know you would have become great Death Eaters. But I can't have anyone alive knowing about me..." He stopped, and then the hissing continued, "Quirrell, let me speak to them... face-to-face..."

Then Quirrell answered, and this time it was Quirrell himself. "But Master, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough for this," the voice hissed, and slowly, Quirrell undid his turban. Then he turned slowly on the spot. As the back of his head was revealed, Daphne felt like screaming. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face she had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Do you see what I have become?" the face of Lord Voldemort to Harry. "Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds...Now, Quirrell... kill the three spares, but the boy is mine to deal when I have body..."

"But Master–" Quirrell suddenly stopped. "Yes, Master." Pulling out his wand, he turned to Daphne, Tracey and Luna. "I'm very sorry that you have to die, but I'll make it quick. _Avada Kedavra!_ " And Daphne could only stare in shock as the green jet of light, the dreaded Killing Curse, headed straight for her best friend.

"NO!" Suddenly, the two of them were lying on the ground. The green jet of spell shot into a stone wall, and with a _Crack!_ then a piece of stone had been shattered. Daphne realised that her betrothed had pushed her best friend on the ground, and thereby saving her life – but had he? When Harry sat up, Tracey was lying there, unconscious, with a red welt on the side of her head where her head had struck the stone floor.

"See, Greengrass," Quirrell continued. "It wasn't me that killed her, it was–" But what he was about to say no-one ever found out, as Harry fired off a curse, " _Sectumsempra!"_ As it hit Quirrell-Voldemort's throat, he instantly died.

"Harry, how did you know that curse?" Daphne ran over to Harry. "I've never seen you use it before, and we haven't even started lessons!"

"I-I-I'm not sure," Harry said, confused. "I know so much all of a sudden, I think I've got Voldemort's memories. But how?"

Daphne glanced at Harry's forehead. "I think I know," she said. "The scar! What if you've got some link to Voldemort through the scar? Like, it hurt when Quirrell looked at you, and now it looks really red. I'll–" Suddenly, she was interruped by a hissing noise coming from Quirrell's body. They looked at him, and they saw some black smoke rise out of him. It had the face of Voldemort, or at least the face that he just had, which had been on the back of Quirrell's head.

"I will never forget this, Potter," the black smoke hissed. "I'll be back one day." Harry was about to say something, when the smoke flew out of a nearby window and disappeared. Just then, the voices of Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore could be heard. "What's going on here?"

.

* * *

.

Fifteen minutes later, Harry, Daphne and Luna were sitting in Dumbledore's office. Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick – as they were introduced to the three – were also sitting there. "What's going on here, Albus?" Professor Snape asked grouchily. "I've had to leave a bunch of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs waiting in the Potions corridor outside, and knowing them, they'll probably do something idiotic."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "First of all, Professor Quirrell is currently dead, and Harry is the one who killed him."

" _What?_ " Professor Snape said. "Headmaster, if he has killed a man then he should be in Azkaban!"

"Oh, shut up, Severus," Professor McGonagall said. "Albus, Harry hasn't killed him, as he was already going to die anyway as he was being possessed by Voldemort – or what was left of Voldemort. We all saw that face, and I'm willing to submit a Pensieve memory to the DMLE if you try and tell them that Mister Potter here commited murder."

"I am sorry to say that I did not know that young Quirinus was being possessed," Dumbledore continued. "But the fact remains that Quirrell is dead, and Harry was the one who hit Quirrell with the Cutting Curse, which slit his throat and killed him."

"It was in self-defence," Professor McGonagall argued. "Plus, Quirrell was basically Voldemort by then!"

"Dumbledore," Harry said. "While it has been nice sitting here doing nothing except watch you argue, I believe we have better things to do with our time than watch you argue. And if you want to press charges against me or tell everyone that you believe I committed murder, then get the DMLE in first. Yes, it is true I hit him with a Cutting Curse, but wasn't Voldemort declared officially dead on Halloween, 1981, anyway? That means that lawfully, I didn't kill him."

"Yes, but–" Albus said.

"But nothing," Harry said. "Come, Daphne, Luna. We should go check on Tracey, she was nearly killed, after all." And, with a girl on each arm, the trio exited out of the Headmaster's office. Albus was about to stop them, when he realised that the statue at the front had already let them go. Dang it! He dismissed the four Heads of Houses, before thinking over this new problem.

.

* * *

.

At lunchtime, as soon as Harry, Daphne, Luna and Tracey walked into the Great Hall, it was clear to them that the rumours about what had happened had started flying about already. Whispers like little fires followed them everywhere, and Harry caught a few sentences. "–You-Know-Who was actually there–"; "–nearly killed by the Killing Curse–"; "Who's going to be our DADA teacher now?" and much more.

Harry scanned the room, and seeing Neville, Hermione, Hannah and Susan sitting at Gryffindor table, the four of them made their way over to them. The students on either side of them immediately moved over to make room for the newcomers. "Hi guys," Harry said. "So, what's for lunch? I'm starving."

"It's nice to see you too," Susan said. "Anyway, what happened to you? Tracey, you look awful with that bandage around your head!"

"Thanks," Tracey said dryly. "We'll tell you the details later, everyone seems to know already."

"Of course," Hannah said. "A painting saw Quirrell's body and overheard what happened, and told all the paintings. The paintings then told everyone they possibly could, which is quite a lot since they talk really loudly and they move about all the time."

"So what did the paintings say?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Well," Hermione began, "they're saying that Harry killed Quirrell, who was possessed by Voldemort, and who tried to kill Tracey. They say that Quirrell was going to kill all of you, except for Harry, who he was going to kidnap. Is that true?"

"Yes," Luna said. "And could we please talk about something else? Harry, what lesson do we have after lunch?"

"Um," Harry said. "We've got History of Magic with Professor Binns, I think. It'll be interesting to find out how he teaches, I've heard that he puts everyone in class to sleep within ten minutes on a hot summer day."

"That's what my aunt told me," Susan said. "Harry, we've got History of Magic with you, so we can find out then. But come on, let's enjoy our lunch first _without any questions about what happened this morning_." She glared at several students who seemed like they were on the verge of asking questions that the four who were there when Quirrell-Voldemort was killed did not seem to want to answer, and they backed off immediately. The rest of their lunchtime, and the following break, went smoothly.

.

* * *

.

Afterwards, Harry, Luna, Hannah and Susan went to History of Magic, which was in Classroom 4F, on the first floor of the castle. It was taught by a ghost, Professor Binns, and the moment he started the lesson, Harry could easily see why so many students fell asleep during his class. Professor Binns had died over two decades ago, and according to several older students, he had fallen asleep in the staff room one day and gotten up to teach later on as a ghost, leaving his body behind.

Then the lesson began, as Professor Binns floated in through the blackboard amongst squeals from several girls. He ignored all of them, before opening a stack of notes, began to read from them in a droning voice. By the time fifteen minutes had passed, Hannah was asleep, Susan was nearly asleep, Harry felt his eyes becoming heavy, but Luna seemed unaffected and was doodling on a piece of parchment. Half the class was already asleep like Hannah, while the other half was either doing homework, playing games on their parchment or staring listlessly out of the window.

"–Emeric the Evil, who was by then–" Harry listened to a few words of Professor Binns' lecture, before turning his thoughts away from him and opening up _Hogwarts: A History_ by Bathilda Bagshot, who was, according to the picture of the author on the back, inside cover, a very old woman with wrinkles and white hair. She seemed familiar somehow to Harry, although he had never met her since he re-entered the wizarding world. He'd definitely be able to remember someone that old!

Harry scanned through his memories for Bathilda Bagshot, and soon several memories came up from when he was a baby. One was what seemed to be a small tea-party, with but with only Ms. Bagshot, his parents and himself in attendance. It was probably his birthday party, as Harry could see a small cake with one candle on it, as well as hear his parents and Ms. Bagshot singing "Happy Birthday". Then another memory came, with Ms. Bagshot, his parents and his father's best friends, Sirius, Remus and Peter, all gathered in a living room, exchanging Christmas presents.

Just looking through these memories made him feel slightly sad about his parents. He knew where he could find Ms. Bagshot to get a little more information about his parents, as well as by asking the adults currently in his life, but what about those three men? Harry made a note to look them up, and find out where they were, and if they could tell him a little about his parents.

.

* * *

.

Transfiguration class with Professor McGonagall followed the break after History of Magic. This time, it was Neville and Hermione who were with Harry and Luna, as it was a Gryffindor-Ravenclaw class. While Harry enjoyed the girls' company, he was pleased to be in a class with Neville as well, although he definitely _wasn't_ pleased to be in the same class as Ron Weasley, who seemed to have gotten even worse during the time between the last time Harry saw him and today, if that was possible, as he kept pestering Harry to "ditch those losers and become his best mate".

Once Harry walked in, he took a seat next to Neville, with Luna and Hermione next to Neville. They took seats in the front row – upon Hermione's insistence, and as Luna, Harry and Neville didn't mind very much, they sat in the front – and first took out notebooks or parchment, quills, ink and their wands, as Percival "Percy" Weasley, who Hermione informed them was one of Ron's older brothers, had apparently told her at the Sorting Feast that there was a lot of note-taking in the first lesson.

She was right, too. Professor McGonagall first gave them a stern talking-to the moment they sat down. "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again, and once she had done so everyone looked very impressed and couldn't wait to get started. But then, as Hermione predicted, they first had to take a lot of complicated-looking notes, which Harry realised were quite simple once you looked properly at them.

After, Professor McGonagall handed them each a match and told them to, using their notes, transfigure the match into a needle as best as they could. Harry was the first one to succeed, followed by Hermione. Neville only managed to get his match to turn silver, while Luna seemed to have turned _her_ match into a cork, which she picked up happily and attempted to attach onto her necklace. Most people didn't manage to turn their match into anything at all.

Then came the break between Transfiguration and dinner, which Harry used to research about the three men that had been in his memory with Ms. Bagshot and his parents. Considering that his parents were famous as war heroes, it wasn't too hard to find a little information about him – and soon, he had found a book with something about them. There was a chapter dedicated to his parents in one of the books about him as the Boy-Who-Lived, and in that then there was a page about what had happened to Sirius Black.

 _On the first of November, the night after You-Know-Who had been defeated by the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, Sirius Black was found out about the crimes he had committed, by betraying his best friend, James Potter, and his best friend's wife, Lily Potter, as well as his godson, to his master You-Know-Who. But Peter Pettigrew, another of the Potters' best friends, had soon realised this and, probably due to grief of losing his best friends, confronted Black instead of immediately contacting the Ministry to take down Black._

 _Pettigrew had confronted Black on a Muggle street, and according to eyewitnesses, was sobbing, "Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?" before pulling out his wand. Unfortunately, Black was quicker than Pettigrew, and blasted the street – and Pettigrew – to pieces, so all there was left were dead bodies, screaming Muggles and a deep hole in the street. The largest part of Pettigrew that was ever found was his finger, along with a pile of bloodstained robes, and he was awarded an Order of Merlin, First Class, posthumously. Black was then taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, and has been in Azkaban ever since._

Harry looked up from the book. _So that was what had happened to Sirius Black!_ Now he had to figure out why he had betrayed the Potters, and he knew how the Greengrasses could help with this. With their connections, he should hopefully be able to get some answers. Then Harry had started writing a note to Cygnus and Isabel:

 _Dear Cygnus and Isabel,_

 _I'm sorry to be bothering you with some more work to do, but I have found out something about my godfather, Sirius Black. According to a book, Sirius Black betrayed my parents and led Voldemort straight to our house in Godric's Hollow that night – and I want to find out why he betrayed my parents, and why he killed those Muggles as well as one of his best friends, Peter Pettigrew._ _So could you possibly be able to find out a little about his trial for me? Thanks!_

 _Harry_

 _P.S. Hogwarts has been fine, although Voldemort did attack me, Daphne, Luna and Tracey on the first day, as he was possessing our DADA teacher, Professor Quirrell. Although I suppose the school should have told you about it, I'll tell you again now. Don't worry, we're all fine though. And Dumbledore said, to quote him, "the third-floor corridor on the right is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a very painful death". I don't know what's going on with this, but I'll keep an eye out._

He smiled at that last paragraph, before seeking out Daphne to see if she wanted to add anything. She agreed, and penned her own section, before they headed to the Owlery to send the letter off with Hedwig.

.

* * *

.

Dinnertime was fine, even though people were still trying to ask Harry questions about what had happened this morning. Ron Weasley had thankfully stopped annoying Harry – for now, as Neville pointed out, as he was stuffing his face with all the food he could reach – and the eight of them chatted idly about their classes and homework.

"Oh, that reminds me," Daphne said. "When we went to Hong Kong, I bought ten homework diaries, seven for our group and the last three would be for any new friends I made at Hogwarts. Meet me outside the Slytherin dormitories after dinner – you just need to wait for a few minutes, it'll be fine – and I'll give you them then."

"Thanks, Daph," Neville said. "They'll come in handy, with all this homework that we're getting. We've got Potions, Charms _and_ History of Magic on our first day – what are we going to do when we sit our O.W.L.s, have fifty pieces of homework a day?"

"I don't think it's _that_ bad," Hannah said. "But Holly said that you do get a lot of homework when you're in fourth year."

"How old are your siblings, Hannah?" Harry asked curiously. "Have they sat their O.W.L.s yet?"

"Holly's starting her fifth year this year," Hannah said, "and Henry's in his seventh year. I don't see him very much, since he's busy studying all the time with his N.E.W.T.s coming this year. He was even studying over summer."

"I suppose you have to, if you want to get good grades," Tracey said. "There's a reason the N.E.W.T.s are called Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, you have to study and study and there's always at least one person who faints or overworks themselves during the N.E.W.T. year or even the O.W.L. year." They continued to chat for a while, before they all headed to the staircase outside the Slytherin dormitories.

As they were waiting for Daphne to get the homework diaries, they were approached by Draco Malfoy, who had apparently told Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle to leave him alone for a few minutes, and was holding his hand out to Harry. "Look Potter, I'm sorry if you thought that I was just trying to suck up to your because you're the Boy-Who-Lived," Draco said, looking decidedly uncomfortable. "But I was honestly just trying to be your friend, and I'm sorry if you thought I was trying to be your 'social secretary' or something like that."

"Apology accepted, Malfoy," Harry said, shaking Malfoy's hand. "And it shows you're honourable enough to apologize, at least. I don't like arrogant pricks who suck up to me, nor people who believe they're above others just because of their blood." Just then, Daphne came back with the homework diaries, and the eight of them parted ways from Draco, who headed back to Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle.

.

* * *

Hey guys!

I'm sorry if this chapter's a little shorter than before and it's been a couple weeks, but I've honestly been really busy. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites, anyway! So if you can't tell yet, Draco and Pansy are going to be friends with Harry – I'm sorry if you don't like it, but you don't exactly have to read my fanfic. And as for Quirrell-Voldemort and the Philosopher's Stone, the story is still going to have the Philosopher's Stone in it, even if Quirrell's dead.

And please, if you ask a question in a review as a Guest, I can't answer it, so please don't get annoyed if I don't answer. Use your real accounts if you have a question you really want me to answer.

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 5,200


	7. Of Letters and Meetings

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Nine – Of Letters and Meetings**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

The next morning at breakfast, the moment Harry sat down with Daphne and the rest of his friends at breakfast – they opted to sit at the Ravenclaw table this time, as they had sat at the Hufflepuff table yesterday morning, and at Gryffindor's table for lunch and dinner – he was greeted with the sight of Hedwig swooping towards him, a letter tied on one of her legs. As she landed on the table, Harry immediately held out some bacon for her, and let her have a drink of his pumpkin juice, before untying the letter. It had the Greengrass crest on it, and was from Cygnus and Isabel (with a short note from Astoria):

 _Dear Harry and Daphne,_

 _I'm sorry if I've had to write the whole thing instead of Cygnus, but as he started going off on a rant as soon as you mentioned the part about You-Know-Who, I instead had to take the quill up myself and write so you could understand it (the original letter was full of ink blots, capital letters and rips in the parchment). But just to make one thing clear – we are definitely coming to Hogwarts today or tomorrow at the latest, depending on when we have some spare hours to Apparate to Hogsmeade and walk over to Hogwarts._

 _You might ask why we are coming to Hogwarts, the answer is because neither Dumbledore, McGonagall, nor any other professors told us a single thing about You-Know-Who, nothing was mentioned about that happening, and there has been no word from anyone about the possibly dangerous object that will create a painful death in Hogwarts. So we are coming to ask – no, demand – for some answers. See you soon!_

 _Of course, this letter is supposed to be about the fact that Harry wants to know a little more about the trial of Sirius Orion Black the Third. But for some reason, we haven't been able to uncover anything, even after looking into the court records of November and December 1981, as well as January, February and March 1982, just in case he had an extremely late trial, which occasionally happens within the Wizengamot, especially if bribes are involved. We've contacted Amelia Bones; hopefully she'll be able to find something. Until then, I'm sorry that you'll have to wait._

 _Isabel (and Cygnus)_

 _P.S. I miss you so much and it's only been two days! I wish I could come to Hogwarts with you two but I'm not old enough and Mum and Dad aren't allowing me to come to Hogwarts with them today because the Potions and History of Magic tutors are coming so I have to stay home. Please write lots of letters! Love from Tori._

"Ooh, so Mum and Dad are coming today," Daphne said, reading the letter over his shoulder as she munched on a slice of toast. By now, everyone except Harry "That's great, but unfortunately Tori isn't coming," she told the rest of their group. "She says that she's got Potions and History of Magic today, so Mum and Dad won't let her come."

"How can your sister have Potions and History of Magic when she isn't even at Hogwarts yet?" Hermione asked, confused. "Is there a primary school for witches and wizards?"

"No," Daphne said. "We only have Hogwarts, as well as a few smaller schools in Britain. What I mean is, Tori's Potions and History of Magic tutors are coming today. Many pureblood witches and wizards, especially those from Noble and Ancient Houses, have tutors before they come to Hogwarts in the theories of spells and Potions, although they aren't allowed to do any spellwork since they don't have a wand yet."

"So will I be behind in a lot of subjects?" Hermione asked. "I mean, you must know a lot more than Muggleborns do if you have private tutors."

"Not really," Daphne said. "We've got loads to learn, I'm sure you'll be on the same level, if not higher, with the purebloods if you study really hard."

"Plus," Tracey chimed in, "we are only able to learn the theory of things as well as things like Potions since we're not allowed a wand until we're eleven and about to go to Hogwarts. Of course, there are always our parents' wands, but they generally keep them safe and out of our reach."

"I see," Hermione said. "Well, thanks for explaining, but I think that we'd better hurry up and finish breakfast soon. What class have you guys got?"

"Luna and I have Herbology with Daphne and Tracey," Harry immediately said. "Us Ravenclaws seem to have quite a lot of first-period classes with Slytherins, now that I think about it. Yesterday we had DADA – or really, Fighting Against Voldemort class like yesterday – with Daphne and Tracey, today we've got Herbology with them and tomorrow we have Charms with them. It's only on Thursday and Friday that we have our first class, Potions, with the Gryffindors."

"It's not that bad to be with us for most of the week for first period," Daphne said. "That way, we get to spend quite a lot of time together outside of meals and meetings."

"I know," Harry said. "But anyway, what time is it? Hermione?" He asked her, since he had seen the glint of a watch on her right wrist while she ate breakfast.

"Time to get a watch, Harry," Hermione said. But she still glanced at her watch, before replying, "It's eight-fifty-four. Breakfast will be over in thirty-six minutes, so do you just want to go to break – maybe in the library? – early, and then go to our classrooms early, if you're finished?"

"Sure," Susan said. "Come on, let's go to the library. It looks like it's about to rain now." She glanced up at the ceiling of the Great Hall. "Look, it's all cloudy and overcast. If it does rain, do you want to spend our breaks in the library?"

"That sounds good to me," Harry said. "I've got a letter to write, and I'd like to send it off with Hedwig tonight if I possibly can, so I'll make a start with it now." The eight of them rose from the Ravenclaw table, and they headed up to the library, which was quickly becoming one of Harry's most favourite places in Hogwarts, apart from maybe his dorm. What eleven-year-old boy didn't like his bed, after all?

Once the eight were in the library, they gathered around a large, circular table. Hermione immediately went to find a book which would help her for flying classes, which she was extremely nervous about; Neville decided to go over his class notes; Hannah wanted to write a letter home to her family; Susan was reading _The Quibbler_ and _The Daily Prophet_ with Luna; Daphne was writing her own letter to Astoria; Tracey was reading _Teen Witch Weekly_ and Harry was writing his letter to Aunt Amelia.

 _Dear Aunt Amelia,_

 _I think you might know by now that I'm interested in finding out about my godfather, Sirius Black, and why he betrayed my parents, from Lord Cygnus and Lady Isabel Greengrass. I already asked them to find a little about his trial for me, but they wrote back, saying that even after looking into all the court records from November 1981 to March 1982, they still couldn't find anything about his trial._

 _So could you possibly be able to look into this for me? I'm not really looking for very much, just a quick explanation for everything, preferably information that was gotten out of him under Veritaserum. I'm sorry to be taking up your time when you probably have a lot of work to do, and you don't really have to bring this to the top of your pile of work I'm sure you have. This can wait a while if you're busy._

 _Harry_

"I'm done now," Harry announced. He cast a _Tempus_ spell, and was surprised to see that it was already nine-twenty-five. "Oh look, we've still got about twenty minutes before class starts. Should we head to class in say, ten minutes?"

"Fine," Neville said. "Hermione, Hannah, Susan – what do you think we should do now that Professor Quirrell is dead? Do you think we should still go to where class was supposed to be anyway, since we don't have a professor to teach us?"

"Of course," Hannah said. "I heard from Sally-Anne Perks who heard it from her best friend, Sally Smith, who overheard Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick saying that Headmaster Dumbledore was going to be teaching us for DADA until he could find another teacher."

"I suppose he should be a good teacher," Daphne said without any enthusiasm. "He did, after all, defeat Grindelwald in the 1940s."

"Yes, but he took _far_ too long to do so," Harry said. "Grindelwald escaped from the MACUSA in the 1920s after his capture and came to Britain, but he was only defeated in 1945? That's a huge time gap, and so many people died when they wouldn't have if Dumbledore had just got off his arse and went to find him a couple decades earlier."

"I suppose so," Susan said. "Aunt has always said something similar when the topic comes up occasionally." They talked for a little while more, before agreeing to meet up here again after class, during the break, and headed off to class.

.

* * *

.

At lunchtime, Harry was greeted with the arrival of Cygnus and Isabel, along with Lord George Davis – who later told them to call him "George" – and Naomi Davis. "Good afternoon, Cygnus, Isabel, George and Naomi," Dumbledore said as soon as they stepped into the Great Hall, rising from his golden "throne" which he sat upon during meals. "What brings you here today to Hogwarts?"

"You know _exactly_ why we're here, Albus," Cygnus said. "What is this I hear about fighting You-Know-Who, who was possessing the DADA professor?"

Dumbledore looked visibly startled. "Perhaps we should continue this discussion in my office," he said, moving out of his seat and towards the door.

"Very well," Cygnus said, and Isabel, George and Naomi all moved towards Harry and their small group. "Harry, Daphne, Tracey and Luna – I'm sorry for interrupting your lunch, but I think it would be best if you came along too. You might be able to provide more details of things that he wants covered up, and you can also tell us if he is lying about anything that happened. But Luna, you don't have to come along if you don't wish to, as this has nothing to do with school, and you shouldn't be with the Headmaster alone without a magical guardian present."

"Then I'd like to stay, please," Luna said.

"I think that _would_ be a good idea," Harry said, rising from his seat. "Daphne?" He offered his arm to her, and she took it, rising from her seat. Tracey did so too, and the three then followed the adults out of the Great Hall, to where Dumbledore was standing outside of the doors.

"May I ask why these three are accompanying us?" Dumbledore asked. "I did, after all, invite Cygnus, Isabel, George and Naomi, not young Harry, Daphne and Tracey."

"They were _there_ when You-Know-Who appeared," Cygnus said. "Shouldn't they be able to tell us a little more about it? You weren't there, Albus, so how would you know?"

"Then I suppose they may come," Dumbledore said, almost resignedly, before spinning on his heel and making his way to the large staircase. He then led them to his office, which didn't take too long, surprisingly, as Harry learnt that the Headmaster's/Headmistress' Office was located on Gargoyle Corridor, which was accessed from the second floor. Once they arrived, Dumbledore said, "Sugar quills," the password, and the gargoyle at the entrance leapt aside to reveal a staircase. The staircase then moved so they could get to the office, which was a large, circular room full of knick-knacks and books.

"Take a seat," Dumbledore said, taking his wand out and conjuring six more chairs, to match the chair that already stood in front of his desk. He then walked around and sat down in his own seat, behind the desk. Once they were all seated – with the men and Harry helping their wives and betrothed respectively into their seats first – Dumbledore leaned forward on his elbows. "Now," he said. "What exactly would you like to discuss about?"

"Well, Albus," Cygnus said. "You could start with telling us why, exactly, you hired a possessed professor to be the DADA professor."

"That was a mistake," Dumbledore said. "Young Quirinus had an excellent report–"

"I'm not asking to know about the state of Quirrell's report," Cygnus said. "I want to know, why did you hire a possessed professor?"

Dumbledore sighed deeply. "I was not aware that he was being possessed," Dumbledore said. "Outside of meals at Hogwarts, I rarely saw him. The first time I met him, he was one of the few candidates for the position of DADA professor. The interview showed he was a brilliant-minded young man, with an excellent report, so I accepted him on the spot. Following that, I saw him only a few times outside of meals."

"Wouldn't the wards have informed you, or Lady Hogwarts herself?" George asked. "Naomi here used to be a brilliant Warder, and she has studied the wards of Hogwarts a few times. According to Ravenclaw's notebook about Hogwarts, there were wards that would tell you if there was anything dark, or if anyone was being possessed, surrounding Hogwarts and its grounds, where it stops a few miles into the Forbidden Forest."

"The wards are highly secretive and special," Dumbledore said. "I do not know the full working of them; I myself have never trained to be a Warder. I do not know everything about them, nor do I claim to."

"That doesn't answer my question, Albus," George said. "It seems that we must repeat everything twice to get you to properly answer it. I wish to know _why_ the wards nor Lady Hogwarts informed you of the possession."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Lady Hogwarts and I have recently, shall we say, become less close in our relationship of Headmaster and school. She does not tell me very much nowadays. As to the wards, I have never heard of such a ward, and it might possibly have been taken down by one of the previous Headmasters or Headmistresses."

"So you shift the blame onto one of the previous Headmasters or Headmistresses," Isabel said. "My turn to ask. Shouldn't professors all receive an annual check-up, or at least a check-up before they begin teaching, to check for anything similar? I thought that was one of the requirements."

"Madam Pomfrey was unfortunately preoccupied with preparing, and re-stocking, her cabinet for the upcoming school year to check," Dumbledore said. "I was planning on having the check-up later in the school year, when Madam Pomfrey was not so busy."

"Excuse me," Harry spoke up, "but isn't Professor Snape supposed to be making the potions? He is the Potions Master after all, not Madam Pomfrey."

Dumbledore looked flustered, and said, "Well, yes, but–"

"But nothing," Naomi said. "I doubt Professor Snape has anything else of importance to do during the summer holidays. I highly doubt he has many friends or a lover outside of Hogwarts, considering the amount of time he spends in Hogwarts and his, shall we say, _charming_ personality and his outward appearance.. So what is your reason, Albus?"

Dumbledore slumped in his seat. "Quirinus never came for his check-up," he said. "The few times I mentioned it to him, and attempted to get him to come into the Hospital Wing for the check-up, he always said that he was far too busy and he would go in later on in the year, when he wasn't as busy as he was now, preparing for the upcoming school year. As he accepted the position only in late July, I thought that was normal, as many professors choose to have their annual check in late June, when they haven't begun planning yet and when the exams and marking is over."

"So now, let's get onto what happened yesterday then," Cygnus said. "Could one of you please provide a memory of what happened yesterday, if you are willing to? You don't have to though, not if you don't want to."

"I'll provide it," Harry said. "But how are you planning to play the memory?"

"I'll be using my Pensieve," Cygnus said. "The Greengrasses have one, and I suspect so do the Potters. My Pensieve, as it is one of the slightly more expensive ones, has a function which allows the memory to be played in the air, so it 'hovers' above the Pensieve, so many can view it at once without having to enter the Pensieve together." He then conjured a small glass vial and handed it to Harry. "Harry, just place your wand to your temple and think hard of the memory. As you do so, a silvery strand will appear from your head to the wand. Place the silvery strand inside here." He gestured to the vial.

Harry nodded, and took his wand out from his wand holster. He placed it on his right temple, and thought hard about the memory, starting from when Professor Quirrell greeted them and asked what their names were and ending when Professor McGonagall and the other professors arrived. Almost unconsciously, he moved it away from his temple, until it broke and swung, silvery bright, from the wand. He lowered it towards the vial, where it coiled up inside then spread, swirling like silver gas. He corked the bottle with a cork Cygnus handed to him, before handing the vial to Cygnus.

"Thank you, Harry," Cygnus said, before snapping his fingers with his free hand and calling, "Pinky!"

Immediately, Pinky appeared with a _Crack!_ , the unmistakable noise of Apparating. "Master Cygnus called?" she said in a squeaky voice. "What can Pinky be doing for Master?"

"Fetch my Pensieve please, Pinky," Cygnus ordered. "It should be in my study, and please be careful with it."

"Yes, Master Cygnus," Pinky squeaked again and Disapparated. A few moments later, she appeared again, staggering under the weight of a relatively large Pensieve. It was about three feet high, with a large, octagon-shaped bowl carved with runes sitting on top of a stand, which also had several runes carved into it. She set it down gently on the ground in front of Cygnus, making sure it was balanced, before turning to Cygnus. "Will that be all, Master?"

"Thank you, Pinky," Cygnus said. "You may leave now." Pinky bowed deeply, her nose almost touching the ground, before Disapparating again. Cygnus then uncorked the vial of Harry's memory, before pouring it into the Pensieve. He then tapped on some of the runes around the Pensieve's edge. A selection of memories popped up in the air above the pensieve in little rectangles, just like a memory, wizarding version of the Muggles' selection of movies to watch on the plane. Cygnus tapped on some more runes and soon, Harry's memory started to play.

Once they had finished playing the memory, which didn't take too long as it was quite a short one, George turned to Dumbledore. "One question from me first," he said. "Why and how is You-Know-Who alive? You, along with ex-Minister Bagnold, declared that You-Know-Who was officially dead to the public via the _Daily Prophet_ and _The Quibbler_ , as well as by telling everyone you possibly could in long speeches in the Ministry atrium."

Dumbledore sighed again. "I believe that in this past decade, he has been living as a spirit," Dumbledore said. "Voldemort himself, or what is left of him, freely admitted that he had form only when he shared another's body, which leads me to believe that if he is not sharing a body, he must be a kind of spirit."

"And you never thought to mention this to anyone?" Cygnus demanded. "This past decade, we could have gone to look for the spirit, if only you had bothered telling us. But now I suppose it's too late, as he has found and will probably find another who will share a body with him."

"I truly believed that he was gone," Dumbledore said. "Only after seeing what happened to the four made me believe that Voldemort was, in fact, alive."

"Very well, Albus," George said, rising from his seat. "Harry, Daphne and Tracey – I'm very sorry to have interrupted your lunch, but you may return now. Just a quick word of confirmation – the memory was true, correct."

"Of course it was," Harry said. "My memories do not lie."

"They were true," Daphne confirmed. "And I must agree with Harry – he is an eleven-year-old, he doesn't have the power to alter his memories."

"Everything that I can remember is true," Tracey said. "After I was knocked unconscious, I naturally don't remember anything."

"Good," George said. "Now, we can take you back to the Great Hall, and then we have business to attend to. For one, I wish to have a word with the School Board."

"I wish to have a quick chat with Astoria's tutors," Isabel said. "She will be going to Hogwarts in two years' time, so she needs all the preparation she can get." Harry, Daphne and Tracey nodded, and the seven – three children, four adults – went back to the Great Hall. Harry, Daphne and Tracey seated themselves at the Ravenclaw table again, where the others were all sitting, and began to make up new plates of food. The adults then waved goodbye, before going out of Hogwarts.

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* * *

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That afternoon, all eight of them had free time for two and a half hours after their last afternoon classes, which was Charms for the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and Transfiguration for the Gryffindors and Slytherins. Harry first ran up to the Owlery to send his letter off with Hedwig, hopefully getting a reply back by next morning. Then he went back to his dorm to pick up some books for homework, before finally arriving at the library to see his friends seated there.

"Hello, Harry," Hermione said. "We were just about to start with some homework. What homework do you have?"

"I've got History of Magic, Charms and Transfiguration," Harry said. "But I also want to have a little nap this afternoon, since tonight then we've got Astronomy with Daphne and Tracey. Daph, Tracey, you should probably have a quick nap as well before dinner, and maybe another one after dinner."

"That's what I'm going to do," Daphne said. "Otherwise, I'm going to have dark circles underneath my eyes tomorrow morning, as well as be super tired as Astronomy finishes at one o'clock in the morning."

"Astronomy should be moved one hour ahead, or maybe even two," Tracey said. "Then we would get to our beds slightly earlier, and wouldn't be so tired all the time. Or they could be nice enough to let us have the next morning off, or at least let us have a long lesson of History of Magic so we can catch up on sleep."

"I know," Daphne moaned. "But instead, we've got classes and they're not History of Magic, so we can't have a nap."

"Homework first," Hermione chided them. " _T_ _hen_ you can have your talk." They moaned, but after some good-natured ribbing they settled down and began their homework.

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* * *

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That night, Harry was almost dropping with tiredness as he made his way back to his dormitory with the other four Ravenclaw boys from Astronomy class. After they had finished their homework, Harry, Luna, Daphne and Tracey all made their way to their dorms to have a quick nap before dinner. After dinner, they had enough time to sneak in a few-hour-long nap, before making their way to Astronomy.

Astronomy was located on the top-most level of the Astronomy Tower, which was accessed by going up a steep, spiral staircase. For safety, the top was surrounded by iron safety railings, as well as crenallated ramparts. There were roughly twenty desks currently there, although no telescopes, as everybody had to purchase their own as part of their school supplies. Once Harry reached the classroom with Luna, Daphne and Tracey (the latter still grumbling about how sleepy she still was), they were greeted by a tall witch with dark hair and eyes who introduced herself as Professor Sinistra.

"Hello, everyone," Professor Sinistra said. "Welcome to your first-ever Astronomy class at Hogwarts. This is where we will be studying the stars and planets, and how they affect us. This is not, contrary to the belief, an easy O.W.L., so I suggest you put in some studying even though we will only be meeting once a week." She quickly took them through what they were going to be learning this term, starting with learning the names of several stars.

They then were given an example of a basic star chart and told to draw their own, based on what they could see through the telescope. By the end of class, Harry had just finished it, along with a few others, but most people hadn't. They were told to finish it for homework, and told they were welcome to come up here to finish their star charts on Saturday and Sunday nights, supervised by Professor Sinistra to make sure they wouldn't get up to mischief. She then bid them goodnight, and they were allowed to leave.

In their dormitory, the five Ravenclaw first-year boys prepared for bed quickly and fell into their beds, almost falling asleep as soon as their head hit their pillows, including Harry. He knew that when he started exercising, he definitely wouldn't be doing it on a Wednesday morning, but instead choosing to sleep a little later.

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* * *

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The next morning at breakfast, which they chose to eat at the Gryffindor table, Harry was again greeted with the sight of Hedwig swooping towards him with a letter on her leg, which had the Bones crest on it. When he opened the letter, he found that it was indeed from Aunt Amelia. It read:

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I had a quick look in the Ministry records (which holds records for literally everything the Ministry has ever done and is updated automatically by magic, which cannot be altered) for anything related to "Sirius Orion Black the Third" (your godfather's full name). I came up with only one thing, which told me what Black had done and that he was taken to Azkaban on the next ferry, but it never said that he had a trial. I think that something fishy is going on here and that your godfather never had a trial, or it would show up automatically in the Ministry records, as well as the Wizengamot court records._

 _But a_ _s according to laws set down by Merlin, everybody should receive a fair trial, regardless of whether they are supposedly guilty or innocent._ _So I will be trying to get your godfather a fair trial – be prepared to share your memory of what happened on October 31, 1981, for the Wizengamot. And while we're on the subject of trials, would you like me to make sure your aunt and uncle receive their trial and punishment of what they did in front of the Wizengamot or if you prefer, its Muggle counterparts? If you would like me to, please prepare a selection of those memories._

 _I am unfortunately unable to get Dumbledore on trial and receive his fair justice and punishment at the moment, as he is still a powerful man and if you want him on trial, his public image, influence and power need to be brought down considerably, as most people still believe him the Leader of the Light. If you want to do so and you have the opportunity, it would probably be a good idea to slowly bring down his power by telling people why he is most definitely not the Leader of the Light._ _Anyway, I hope you're still having a great time at Hogwarts, Harry!_

 _Aunt Amelia_

 _P.S. I heard about the meeting with Dumbledore, about what happened with You-Know-Who. Could you possibly be able to write back and tell me a little more about what happened? I'm just curious, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. (And no, that does not mean I will be quizzing Susan on what happened if you tell her. I will respect your privacy.)_

"I think I've got a letter to write," Harry said, pulling out a sheet of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink from his bookbag. "You seven can go ahead to wherever you want to go for the rest of break first, I just want to write my letter and send it off quickly with Hedwig, before she needs a rest."

The other seven exchanged glances. "We're staying with you, Harry," Neville said. "I think I might write a letter to Gran too, she'll definitely want to know how my first week at Hogwarts has been going. We can all do our letter-writing now." The other six voiced their agreement. Harry nodded, and quickly drafted in his mind what he wanted to write, before putting pen to paper... or quill to parchment in the wizarding world and writing:

 _Dear Aunt Amelia,_

 _Thanks for bothering to look into Sirius Black for me, I know you must have a lot of work to do! If Sirius Black never had a trial, I suppose that makes sense that Cygnus and Isabel couldn't find anything in the court records about his trial. Maybe the Ministry just decided that obviously he was guilty, and there was no need for one, or they were too busy with the Death Eater trials and decided to hold him in Azkaban for a while until his trial, but they then forgot? Either way, I suppose that would be wrong, so I will fully support you if you want to get him a trial and are willing to._

 _Onto the subject of my aunt and uncle and their possible trial. I think that it would be nice if they could have their trial in the wizarding world, in front of the Wizengamot, as proof of what Dumbledore subjected me to ten years ago as he set me down on that doorstep. We could probably start pulling Dumbledore down little by little then, starting with that. But I don't want them to receive justice in the wizarding world, they are Muggles and they should receive justice in the Muggle world. Otherwise, I want their lives to become hell as everything takes a bad turn for them (with the help of magic, of course)._

 _Next, I would be happy to tell you about what happened in Dumbledore's office. I will be enclosing a vial containing a memory strand, which you may watch in a Pensieve (Cygnus and Isabel have one). But if you don't have one and can't borrow one, I can write it down for you if you want. And just another note about the memory – not that I don't trust you, but could you please not share it with anyone apart from the Greengrasses, the Longbottoms, the Davises, the Lovegoods and the Abbotts? I don't exactly want everyone to know about it. Thanks!_

 _Finally, an update on Hogwarts (you can skip this part if you don't want to read it). It's quite nice, and it's really big too. It's also_ slightly _boring, since I have an eidetic memory and have no need to study; haven't begun my exercise routine yet and there's not a lot of homework, so I can easily whiz through it. I am also apparently one of those people who feel awake no matter what time of day it is (notice I haven't said "night", just "day") so I don't require too much sleep. But I'll be starting some of my own studies soon, as well as my exercise routine, so I doubt it'll be like this anymore._

 _Harry_

 _P.S. I'll be sending the next letter with a school owl, as Hedwig needs a longer rest as she's been delivering letters back and forth now._

Harry then waited for the ink to dry (as he hadn't learnt a Drying Charm yet) before rolling it up. He then asked a nearby seventh-year to help him conjure a glass vial with a tight cork, who shrugged before saying, "Why not?" and producing one. He didn't notice Harry carefully watching and mimicking the wand movements and incantation. After Harry had thanked the seventh-year, who introduced himself as Simon Cornfoot, he put his wand to his temple and thought hard about the meeting in Dumbledore's office. Just like in Dumbledore's office, he moved the wand away and dropped the silvery strand.

Harry tightly corked the bottle and dripped a few drops of wax which he collected from a candle, before tying it tightly to the rolled-up letter. He then tied both the vial and the letter to a patiently waiting Hedwig's leg and feeding her a few strips of bacon. "You can rest afterwards," Harry told Hedwig. "I'm sorry to be using you all the time. You can have a longer rest after this." Hedwig pecked Harry's hand, like she was nodding, before flying out.

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* * *

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The school day went without incident until the afternoon, when the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors had their Flying class. Flying class was taught by Madam Hooch, who was also the Hogwarts Quidditch referee. When they arrived outside, there were twenty broomsticks lying on the ground in two rows. They each lined up behind a broomstick as Madam Hooch arrived and barked at them, "Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" Everyone cried, and Harry's broom immediately jumped into his hand, along with a few others'. On his right, Neville's hadn't moved at all; on his left, Luna's was apparently floating mid-air in front of her. Next to Luna, Hermione's broom had simply rolled over. After two more goes of shouting "UP!", Madam Hooch then told those who hadn't managed to get their broom to jump up to manually pick them up. Hermione seemed pleased to see that Ron Weasley was one of those that had to pick theirs up, so Harry made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. "Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," she said. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning slightly. On my whistle – three – two – one–" She blew her whistle, and then everyone kicked off. Harry felt a sense of elation, which ended as Madam Hooch motioned for them to come down, which everyone but one obeyed.

"Look at me!" Ron Weasley was shouting as his broom, controlled by him, rose up and up and up until he was about twenty feet high. He then started to twist and turn in the air, ignoring Madam Hooch's shouts of "Come back down, boy!" and his best friend Stephen Cornfoot's shouts of "Ron! You're going to get hurt!" But it soon came to an end as the ancient school broom, which couldn't take much more of that, broke in half and Ron fell, his face turning white.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" He screamed as he fell through the air. Madam Hooch dashed forward, but gravity was stronger – and Ron fell onto the ground face-down with a nasty _Wham!_ Madam Hooch bent over him, her face as white as his. "Broken wrist, someone'll have to take you to the Hospital Wing. Cornfoot, you can take him." Mister Cornfoot nodded, before leading his best friend away and into the castle. The rest of Flying class went without trouble.

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* * *

Hey guys!

Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites – we're finally up to over 100 reviews on this, for all eight chapters so far! In my fanfic, Grindelwald escaped from the MACUSA in the 1920s. The facts are real (well, at least what's on Harry Potter Wikia) but I made the dates because there was nothing about when it happened on Harry Potter Wikia, except for that Albus, Aberforth and Grindelwald's three-way duel was in the summer of 1899 and Grindelwald was defeated in 1945 by Albus Dumbledore. There's a gap of forty-six years in between, so I just tried to make it seem slightly realistic.

I'm also _really_ sorry for not updating in a month, but I haven't forgotten about it. I've just had quite a lot of homework, as well as a competition out of the country that lasted for over a week, and practising for that competition took up a lot of my time. I'm also going to be out of the country _again_ in a couple weeks' time, just to give you a little warning. So this chapter's a little longer than the last one to make up for it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 6,500


	8. Explanations

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Ten – Explanations**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

Dinner was the first meal that Harry and his friends ate at the Slytherin table, upon Daphne's insistence that they try sitting at Slytherin table for once. "It won't be any different, apart from that those surrounding us have Slytherin crests on their robes and tend to have a slight dislike of anyone that isn't a pureblood," Daphne argued as they met up after Flying class. "The food's the same, and we usually just talk amongst ourselves anyway."

"I agree," Luna said. "We will try it at dinner, and it'll be quite fun. Oh, and Draco Malfoy, his betrothed and his two 'bodyguards' will be there. Draco Malfoy can be quite a nice boy, actually. We've had some interesting conversations about his betrothed, Pansy Parkinson."

"What did you say to him, and what did he say?" Tracey asked, intrigued. "What does he really have to say about Pansy, apart from that they're best friends and were betrothed from birth, which they formalised with the ceremony at the age of two?"

Before Luna could answer Tracey, she was interrupted by a shocked Hermione. "He was betrothed from birth, and formalised the betrothal at the age of _two_?" she said disbelievingly. "Isn't that far too young to become betrothed, or is that normal in the magical world?"

"I can assure you, it's quite normal in pureblood families," Neville said. "My parents were allowed to fall in love first, but my grandparents were betrothed before birth in a contract between my great-grandparents. Luckily, Gran doesn't exactly believe in betrothing children, and prefers to allow me to fall in love first. But Hermione, there are many, many books on this. Betrothal contracts are common knowledge, apart from the fine details and conditions of it, which are usually between the two Houses involved only."

"But there are some conditions which are nearly almost always written in the contract," Hannah chipped in. "For example, an especially common one between two Slytherin pureblood families would be 'Upon the evening prior to the date of the union, the prospective bride must be confirmed by a certified Healer to be a virgin.' This was nearly always written in every betrothal contract between two pureblood houses."

"Another might be 'The bride must produce one male heir within five years of the union, and a second heir, either male or female, within ten years of the union'," Tracey said. "That was written in my Mum and Dad's betrothal contract, and I believe that it was in my grandparents' too. But look, Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are coming this way. I wonder what they want?"

Just then, Draco, with Pansy hanging on to his arm, approached Harry and his friends. "Hello," Draco said. "I was just wondering if we could sit with you, if you don't mind. We don't have any kind of bad feelings towards you, we just want to be friends or at least on good terms."

"That would be nice, I suppose," Susan said. "We always have room for more friends." When everyone stared at her, she said, "What? I _am_ a Hufflepuff, after all."

"Alright," Harry said. "Come on, you can sit down with us. Where are your two 'bodyguards' – sorry, I mean Crabbe and Goyle. No offence, I got slightly used to calling them 'bodyguards' after being around this lot so much." He chuckled, and Draco and Neville joined in after a few seconds.

"It's alright," Draco said. "They're only around me because they think that way, I can increase their standing. I don't really like them very much, and they were never actual friends of mine anyway." Draco helped Pansy into a seat, before sitting down himself and reaching for some food. "But I was hoping that _you_ could be actual friends one day, not just business partners."

"We know," Harry said, "and we would be happy for you to consider us your friends, and vice versa. Friends, then?" He held out his hand, and Draco took it.

"Friends," Draco said, and a smile came over his face as they shook hands.

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* * *

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Far away from Hogwarts where the group of friends, plus Draco and Pansy, were enjoying their newly-found friendship, there was an island in the North Sea. On top of this island, a tall, grey, stone fortress sat, wrapped in wreaths of mist, surrounded by a palpable air of misery, depression and insanity. This was the home of criminals, where they stayed day after day, month after month, year after year, surrounded by depressing, happiness-draining, soul-sucking creatures known as Dementors.

One of the "worst" criminals, who had been in the high-security section for nearly a decade, was known as Sirius Black. Sirius Black had been sent to Azkaban for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles, although he had never been convicted. _Damn right that is_ , Sirius thought as he scratched another tally line on his wall. _It's been ten years, I wonder how Harry is? He should be at Hogwarts by now..._ His thoughts were rudely interrupted as his cell door was yanked open by an Auror he had known back in his pre-Azkaban years. "Kingsley Shacklebolt? Why are you here?" Sirius said in his hoarse, scratchy voice.

"Madam Bones wants to interrogate you on behalf of Harry Potter," Auror Shacklebolt said. "Can't exactly do that if you're in Azkaban and surrounded by Dementors, so you're being taken to the Ministry. Come on now, there are some trusted Aurors waiting for us at the dock." He quickly placed magic-inhibiting manacles on Sirius' wrists and around his ankles, so he could do little more than shuffle, and put a rune necklace around his neck that told the Dementors that he was off limits to them.

As Kingsley led Sirius from Azkaban and onto the boat that was waiting at the docks, Sirius almost broke down at the sight of the beautiful night sky, which he hadn't seen in a decade. It was beautiful, and Sirius vowed to never take nature and the sight of it for granted again once he was a free man once again. "Get on, cousin," another Auror said. This one was a female Auror, and had shocking pink hair, which stood out against the darkness surrounding Azkaban.

"Nymphadora Tonks, is that you?" Sirius asked, shocked. "You're an Auror now? Last time I saw you, you were a little eight-year-old who loved and always kept her hair pink."

"Yeah well, a lot can change in a decade," Tonks said. "Get on." Sirius complied, and then he was on the boat that would finally take him to his freedom, sailing away from his prison for the first time in a decade and the first time in his life.

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* * *

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Albus Dumbledore was not a happy wizard, especially as he thought over the happenings of what had happened over the last three days since Harry, and this year's batch of first-years, had arrived. Actually, make that the last _month_ since Harry had run away from the Dursleys and into the wizarding world, without Dumbledore's knowledge! That simply was _not_ acceptable, especially from a pawn that while was an important one, was still a pawn.

During the last three days, Harry had created plenty of trouble for him and the Greater Good. First, there had been defeating Quirrell, as well as the spirit of Tom, before they could find the Philosopher's Stone or unicorn blood in the Forbidden Forest. Now, there was no way that Harry would want to find the Philosopher's Stone and retrieve it for him, before passing out in a battle, so Dumbledore could take the Stone and pretend it had been destroyed, unless... Dumbledore shook his head. That was a little extreme, and there was no point in it anyway. He could easily retrieve the Stone himself, and tell Nicolas that it had been stolen. That was an activity for later.

Next, there was the meeting, which pulled up some questions he didn't want to answer, especially not in front of people like the Greengrasses. Who _knew_ what they would do with that information; it unfortunately wasn't going to be his decision as the Greengrasses were 'Grey' and therefore, not under his control. Next, there was the constant letters that Dumbledore had noticed going to Harry, which had the Bones crest on it. It could only mean it was from one person – Madam Bones, another person that Dumbledore had grown quite tired of quickly. She had, after all, refused to listen to him on anything at all. Hopefully, those letters had nothing to do with his less-than-legal activities and had more to do with how great Hogwarts was.

But the problem with that was all he could do about those letters was wonder and hope, something he constantly told people to do (so he could swoop in, save the day and gain another blind-with-adoration follower) but something he never relied on. Harry and the rest of his friends, bar Miss Hermione Granger, seemed to have powerful Occlumency shields helped by family magics that Severus could not breach. He also couldn't monitor Harry's mail, as the owl flew straight to Harry no matter what time of day it was, and refused to be caught by him, as he had already tried.

Finally, he had a new problem in the forms of Draco Malfoy, Heir Apparent of the Elder and Worthy House of Malfoy; and Pansy Parkinson, Heiress Apparent of the Elder and Worthy House of Parkinson. While neither of them possessed much threat to him (apart from the fact that they were both Heir(ess) Apparents, due to the fact they had no siblings, they were still problems. At first, everything had gone perfectly fine, as Harry had refused their company. But the next thing he knew, they were apologizing to him and now they were apparently friends. It simply could not do!

 _At least one thing's gone right_ , Dumbledore thought. After he had thought for hours on what to do about Harry and Daphne's betrothal, he thought of an idea by skimming through one of his books on the laws of the Statute, which were sent annually to every of-age witch and wizard in Magical Britain. This copy was titled _The Laws of the Land: 1990_ and was the latest copy, sent from last December. Dumbledore had realised that as Harry was going to be the Lord of two Houses, he was allowed to have two wives if he wanted, to continue both lines. One of them, unfortunately, had to be Daphne Greengrass, as she was the one who brought the House of Greengrass to Harry; but the other could be young Ginevra Weasley.

Now all he had to do was get Harry to fall in love with Ginevra – maybe with the help of love potions, which he was sure that Molly Weasley would be happy to let her daughter give to Harry and that Ginevra would be happy to give to Harry, if it meant he would fall in love with her. _Yes_ , Dumbledore thought, _love potions would be easy_. Now all he had to do was provide Severus with the ingredients, give him several Alchemical Potions books to brew a love potion that would overcome Harry's Occlumency shields and the Horcrux inside Harry, and everything would be sorted.

But the problem to overcome was how to get him acquainted and on good terms with the Weasleys, so it wouldn't look strange when he fell in love with Ginevra. Ronald had reported that Harry was not interested _at all_ in becoming his friend, which was rather annoying. Maybe several loyalty potions would help? Again, Severus would have to brew them with an alchemical component, which would probably be an interesting challenge he might like. After all, it wasn't every day you got asked to brew something like that.

Unfortunately, the meeting at King's Cross Station between the Weasleys and Harry didn't work out, as Cygnus Greengrass had turned up and threatened Molly Weasley for breaking the Statute of Secrecy, and Molly had revealed that Dumbledore had asked her to wait there since Harry was "obviously misguided under their influence". Which was well, true, but she didn't have to reveal it to everyone, especially not in front of Harry!

There were far too many problems to deal with, problems that wouldn't have been problems if only Harry had just waited for Hagrid to collect him instead of running away.

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* * *

.

That night, while first-year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were making their way up the stairs to their first Astronomy class ever, Madam Bones was seated behind her desk in her office, surrounded by piles of paperwork relating to everything that was even mildly related to the DMLE, since the Minister was too lazy to do anything like that and the Chief Warlock was busy with Hogwarts-related stuff. _Hell_ , she thought, _I could probably find something relating to what the cleaning lady that cleans the Auror cafeteria on weekends' sister's best friend's cousin cooked for dinner last week in this pile_.

Someone knocked on her door, and Madam Bones called out, "Come in!" to reveal one of Madam Bones' most trusted Senior Primary Aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"'Night, Madam Bones," he said. "Just wanted to tell you that Black is in Prisoner Holding Cell 3, Auror In-Training Nymphadora Tonks and Junior Primary Auror Williamson are guarding him, he's wearing a glamour anchored by a rune-stone bracelet, and I'm going home as my shift ends at midnight, which passed five minutes ago."

"Good," Madam Bones said. "I expect to see you tomorrow, bright and fresh for the interrogation then. It'll be during the first hour before your shift, so be on time."

"Got it, Madam Bones," Kingsley said. "'Night then." He closed the door silently, and Madam Bones was left to her work. _Wait no, I've still got to write a letter to Harry about his godfather,_ she thought. _Or at least write a little about what I thought of his meeting with Dumbledore_. She found a clean sheet of parchment from her pile of clean parchment that was diminishing rapidly as she was now constantly writing to Harry, picked up her quill again, and wrote:

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Your godfather is now away from Azkaban, and is currently within the DMLE. His interrogation (with only myself, Senior Primary Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and Auror In-Training Nymphadora Tonks present) will be tomorrow (or today, when you receive this letter) at 3 o'clock sharp in the afternoon. If I do find that he's innocent, I'll get him a trial at the next Wizengamot meeting, which is set for the next Sunday (not this Sunday, the Sunday afterwards). You could get permission from Dumbledore by stating that it's for "legal purposes".  
_

 _Next, about the Dursleys' trial. Would you be okay if the trial was also on the same day as Sirius Black's trial? It would make things slightly easier, and one-and-a-half weeks is enough for me to find them, arrest them and bring them to the wizarding world. I have learnt that their son and your cousin, Mister Dudley Dursley, is currently away at Smeltings Academy and won't be back for a while yet, so if his parents_ are _convicted I would like you to come and talk to him about it (we will bring him to the DMLE)._

 _Finally, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself at Hogwarts, even if it is slightly boring for you. The meeting was pretty good, that's_ exactly _how I would deal with Dumbledore too! Having an exercise routine sounds pretty good to me, as is studying by yourself on other subjects. Could I possibly recommend Alchemy, studying different types of Runes or Arithmancy early or maybe extra History that you won't be tested on? You could also study advanced material for your classes, but those are just my suggestions._

 _Aunt Amelia_

When that was finished, she tied it to the leg of her tawny owl, Tanya, who was also her familiar, and sent Tanya off to Hogwarts to deliver it by the next morning.

.

* * *

.

The next morning, Harry and Luna were the first ones of the group down to breakfast. They chose to sit at Ravenclaw table today, as Draco and Pansy were now part of their group, and Ravenclaws would accept more Slytherins amongst them easier than Hufflepuffs or Gryffindors would. Plus, Harry wanted to see about getting into the Quidditch team next year if it was possible. He already knew who the Quidditch Captain was for Ravenclaw – a sixth-year boy named Andrew Chambers.

Just then, a tawny owl came swooping into the Great Hall, ahead of all the other owls, carrying a letter with the Bones crest on it again. Harry unrolled the letter and quickly read it, before pulling out quill, ink and parchment to reply to Aunt Amelia. _I must remember to buy some self-inking quills, or at least buy a Muggle pen_ , Harry thought. _It would make life so much easier for me_. He wrote:

 _Dear Aunt Amelia,_

 _Thank you for freeing Sirius! How did you get him out of Azkaban without anyone noticing? Anyway, I think the interrogation is a good idea to have one before he has a public trial. Maybe you could give him some Veritaserum for the interrogation, so nobody can doubt what he says is true? I don't think a magical oath is the best way to go around it, as it could damage his magic later on if something went wrong._

 _I would be fine if the Dursleys' trial was on the same day; it would save a lot of going to-and-fro from Hogwarts for me, as I suppose I am a witness in that trial. Unfortunately, I have no desire to speak to Dudley Dursley, but I am willing to write a letter for him, explaining everything. Or you could always give him a copy of the court transcript of his parents' trials, and have a high-ranking Auror speak to him about it._

 _Finally, Hogwarts again. I'm already studying runes, although it's just the basic type taught in Hogwarts – Ancient British Runes. But I'm thinking of learning different types of runes as well, such as Modern Runes (not used very often nowadays) and runes from other countries. I'm also reading some advanced material (well, advanced for first-years) to help me understand the course work better and why things are done in the way they are. History of Magic is very boring when taught by Professor Binns, but it's quite fascinating when I learn it by myself. Thanks for the suggestions!_

 _Harry_

Harry then rolled it up and tied it to the tawny owl's leg, who had been patiently waiting for him, and turned his attention to Daphne, Tracey, Draco and Pansy, who had just arrived. "Good morning, Harry," Daphne said, taking a seat beside him. "Where's everyone else?"

"Still sleeping, I think," Harry said, taking a bite out of his bacon. "They had Astronomy last night, they're probably exhausted by now as they didn't have much of a nap yesterday. Neville and Hermione had Flying with us, remember?"

"Oh right," Daphne said. "Anyway, we should just start eating without them. What's your first class this morning?"

"Potions with Professor Snape," Harry said. "Draco, don't you know him well?"

"Yeah, he's my godfather," Draco said. "Father used to invite Professor Snape to our manor a lot when I was young, but not so much this summer as I had so many tutors to 'prepare me for Hogwarts'. So then I only saw him when I was free or when he was tutoring me for Potions."

"Great, so he'll love you and give you great marks," Harry said. "And _we're_ stuck with the Gryffindors this year for Potions. I've heard that Professor Snape really hates them."

"Just don't do anything foolish and you'll be fine," Pansy said. "I've met him quite a few times when I was young too, and he actually quite likes Ravenclaws." They talked for a little longer about Professor Snape, before heading to their separate classes early (as Neville, Hermione, Susan and Hannah didn't come down for breakfast).

.

* * *

.

Potions was located in the dungeons, which were very cold, even though it was only a few days into September. It was quite creepy, thanks to the way the light from the few flickering candles played on everything, including the many pickled animals in glass jars around the room. Professor Severus Snape was the Potions Master of Hogwarts, as well as the most hated teacher in the school by three-quarters of the students, as well as one of the most frightening.

Once Harry had sat down, he took out all his supplies that he needed for potionmaking, as well as the two books for Potions on the Hogwarts booklist – _Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger and _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore. Professor Snape began class by taking the roll call. When he reached Harry's name, he said, "Ah, yes... Harrison Potter, our new celebrity." Ronald Weasley sniggered behind his hands at that – loud enough for Harry to hear, but not loud enough for Snape to take any notice. After he had finished, he looked up at them with dark, cold eyes that made you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," he said. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." He stopped. Hermione now looked like she was on the edge of her seat, desperate to prove him wrong.

"Potter!" Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Luckily, Harry had been studying over the summer, before he arrived at Greengrass Manor. "A mess, but those two are the key ingredients in a powerful sleeping potion named the Draught of Living Death," he answered.

Snape sneered at him. "Got lucky, did you? One point from Ravenclaw for your cheek," he said. "Let's try again. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"The stomach of a goat, your potions cabinet or an apothecary," Harry replied.

"Another point from Ravenclaw for cheek," Snape snarled. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"Nothing," Harry answered. "They are the same plant, which also goes by the name aconite."

"It looks like you _have_ at least bothered to study. I hope you can keep that up," Snape said, before snapping at the rest of the class. "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" There was a flurry for parchment and quills as everyone rushed to copy that down. Afterwards, he put them all into pairs and had them make a simple Boil Cure. He swept around in his long, black robes, berating the Gryffindors and insulting them, while he paid little to no attention to the Ravenclaws.

He was just berating Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil for gossiping when there was a loud hissing noise and clouds of acid-green smoke filled the dungeon. Ron Weasley had somehow managed to melt Stephen Cornfoot's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, everyone was standing on their stools while Ron, who had been drenched in the potion, moaned in pain as red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" Snape snarled at Ron. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the potion off the fire?" He waved his wand and the whole potion, along with the twisted remains of the cauldron, vanished. "Take him up to the hospital wing," he snapped at Stephen, who nodded and carefully helped Ron out. Then he turned on Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, who were next to Ron and Stephen. "You – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? That's a point you've lost for Gryffindor now."

The class settled back to normal – or at least as normal as it could get – after the pair had gone.

.

* * *

.

That afternoon, as soon as 3 o'clock struck, Amelia Bones was down in Sirius Black's DMLE Holding Cell, along with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks, who had placed magic-inhibiting cuffs on Sirius' hands and feet yet again before Madam Bones arrived. Madam Bones ordered, "Tonks, please get a Dicta-Quill and a roll of parchment."

"Yes, ma'am," Shacklebolt and Tonks said, before slipping out of the room. Within a few minutes, they were back with the necessary items, and Madam Bones turned the Dicta-Quill on and let it hover above the parchment, which was lying on a small table that had been conjured by Shacklebolt as soon as he came in. "Tonks, you'll be monitoring the Dicta-Quill. I take it you have been trained in the use of one?"

"Yes, Madam Bones," Tonks said, and conjured up a chair to sit down in.

Madam Bones then turned to Sirius. "Are you willing to undergo interrogation by Veritaserum?" she asked. "Please note that if you are, your word will lend more credit than it would without Veritaserum or a magical oath."

"I'm willing to undergo interrogation by Veritaserum," Sirius said, and Madam Bones nodded for Shacklebolt to go and get a vial of Veritaserum. When he came back with a small vial, one that would only contain a few drops of it and was used in trials, Sirius immediately tilted his head back and stuck his tongue out.

"I now confirm that the vial that Senior Primary Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt has brought me is Veritaserum Vial No. 3829, and the seal is unopened and it has not been tampered with," Madam Bones confirmed for the Dicta-Quill, before administering three drops of Veritaserum to Sirius, who smacked his lips and put his head back down as his eyes began to glaze over like someone who had taken Veritaserum. Then Madam Bones turned to the Dicta-Quill, "I confirm that I am Regent and Heir Secondary Amelia Susan Bones of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Bones and Madam Bones the Head of the DMLE.

"Sirius Orion Black the Third of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black has now been administered three drops of Veritaserum willingly," Madam Bones continued. "From this point onwards, I confirm that everything he says is a statement under the influence of Veritaserum. So let the interrogation of Heir Apparent Sirius Orion Black the Third of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black begin."

Madam Bones began with some of the basic questions required. "What is your full name and house?"

"I am Sirius Orion Black of the Third of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," Sirius stated, his eyes now glazed over.

"When were you born, and who are your parents?"

"I was born on the third of November, 1959, to Orion Arcturus Black and Walburga Irma Black," Sirius replied.

"Let's cut to the chase now. Why did you betray the Potters, and what happened on that night?" Madam Bones asked.

"I didn't," Sirius said. "Peter Pettigrew did. Albus Dumbledore cast the Fidelius, and originally I was meant to be the Secret Keeper. But Dumbledore suggested that maybe Peter would be a better idea as a Secret Keeper, as You-Know-Who wouldn't suspect that someone like Peter would be our Secret Keeper. James and Lily agreed to that idea, and we secretly made Peter the Secret Keeper instead of me. But just in case, Peter and I both went into hiding together with Remus Lupin.

"That night, I had a feeling something was wrong," Sirius continued. "I came back from buying a few groceries, and immediately rushed to find Peter so we could go to James and Lily's just to make sure nothing bad would happen. But I couldn't find Peter in the apartment Remus, Peter and I shared; all I could find was a note from him that told me that he had gone out and would be back soon. Anyway, I got on my motorbike and drove to the Potters' – but instead of finding the Potters all hearty and hale, I found a sort of explosion aftermath and Rubeus Hagrid walking out, carrying baby Harry in his arms.

"I told Hagrid, 'Hand Harry over to me, please. He's my godson, and I'm his sworn godfather. I'll take care of him.' But Hagrid refused, saying, 'I'm takin' 'im ta 'is aunt's 'ouse, Dumbledore told me ta.' So as I see he's not about to give up, I tell him to take my bike and that I'll go after Peter, or 'the bastard responsible'. Hagrid agrees, and I give him my bike and my motorbike goggles." He then fell silent, and Madam Bones got the feeling that if he wasn't currently under Veritaserum, he would be sobbing.

"Alright, let's wrap it up with a few last questions," Madam Bones said. "What happened when both of you met on that Muggle street?"

"I eventually found him on a street in London," Sirius answered. "I cornered him, and he was fake-sobbing and yelled, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' Then before I could curse him, he blasted the street – and the Muggles – to smithereens with his wand behind his back, and in the confusion, he cut off his middle finger and transformed into a rat, which is his Animagus, and sped into the sewer."

"Final question. Do you know where Peter Pettigrew could be?" Madam Bones asked.

"I'd say he's probably someone's pet by now," Sirius said. "He never was the type that could fend for himself, and besides, everyone thought he was dead. He could have stayed in his Animagus form and gone to some magical family as a pet rat, and stayed there for the past decade." Madam Bones made sure that the Dicta-Quill statement had everything on it, before giving him the antidote to the Veritaserum.

As Sirius began to shrug off the effects of the truth potion, he looked at Madam Bones and said, "So _now_ do you believe I'm innocent?"

"Yep," Madam Bones said. "Kingsley, the key. Unlock his manacles." Once Shacklebolt had done so, Madam Bones said, "Now we need to find somewhere for you to stay for the next week and a half before your trial. Do you have any ideas? What happened to the apartment you used to stay in?"

"I'm sure that the Muggle landlord died already," Sirius said. "Last time I saw him, he was already nearly eighty – a _very_ old age for Muggles. But could you possibly help me track him down, just in case everything's still there?"

"I'll try to," Madam Bones said. "What was this landlord's name?"

"George Williamson, I think," Sirius said, frowning. "He used to live in an apartment nearby, but I can't recall the address of where he lived."

"Or you could stay with Mum, Dad and I," Tonks piped up. "You were Mum's favourite cousin, and she never thought you were guilty. She thought you were innocent, but since she had been Disowned and she was married to a Muggleborn, who still aren't held in high regard, she didn't have enough power to get you a trial."

"Go ask them," Madam Bones said. "Call your mother, you can use my private Floo." Tonks nodded and ducked out of the door; in a few minutes she was back.

"Mum says it's fine," Tonks reported. "Madam Bones, Mum wants you to know that she'll be giving Sirius some potions to help him heal from his time in Azkaban, but he'll just be staying in our house the whole time so there's no worries of anyone seeing him."

"Very well," Madam Bones said. "Sirius, you're free to go now. I'll Floo-call you sometime in the next week to let you know when your trial is." Sirius nodded, before Madam Bones turned to Shacklebolt and Tonks. "Not a word of this to anyone, do you hear? I'll be keeping the statement, although I'll duplicate it and keep a copy somewhere else." The two Aurors nodded. "Sirius, you can stay in my office until Tonks is off-duty." Sirius nodded again, and Madam Bones cast a glamour on him before the four of them left.

.

* * *

.

Back at Hogwarts, Harry, Neville, Hermione and Luna were spending some free time in the library, just the four of them as the rest all had Flying class today. Harry was finishing up his homework with Neville and Luna, while Hermione was busy reading an ancient book called _An Introduction to Wizarding Ranks_ while worrying at her bottom lip with her two front teeth. Suddenly, she looked up and asked, "Would you guys mind explaining a little about the terms relating to the Heirs? This book seems to focus a lot on them, but it doesn't explain what they _are_ very clearly."

"Oh!" Harry said. "I'll explain it, then. Basically, they are to determine which Heir is the most important to the lines of succession. So the Head of the House is the Lord, who has ultimate power over that House. Then there's the Lady, the Lord's wife, who has significant power, but not as much as the Lord. Then come all the Heirs. There are different ranks in the Heirs – the most important is the Heir Apparent or the Heir Primary, who is the Heir that is destined to be the future Lord of the House. Then there's the Heir Presumptive, who is like the backup in case the Heir Apparent dies, but there's not always one in every House. But in Daphne's case, Daphne is Heiress Presumptive since Lord and Lady Greengrass _could_ have a son, so she's just Heiress Presumptive. Then there's the Heir Secondary, who is slightly below the Heir Presumptive, which is what Astoria is. Then there's the Heir Tertiary, who is like the third Heir, a 'backup of a backup'. Finally, those who are below that are just known as _a_ Heir. Does that make sense?"

"I suppose," Hermione said. "But then what would that make Susan? I mean, since her aunt is older, but Susan is of the main line."

"Ah," Harry said. "Susan would be the Heiress Apparent or Heiress Primary, since her parents are dead and there wouldn't be any more children. Aunt Amelia would be the Heiress Secondary, since she is of a 'cadet' line."

"That makes sense," Hermione said. "Thanks for explaining it to me, Harry." Harry nodded, and they settled back down to work.

.

* * *

Hey guys!

Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites – I saw them when I was out of the country, and it made me really happy to know that there are people that like my fanfiction enough to review, follow and favourite it. Thanks guys! Okay, so just a quick note about the ranks of the Heirs – in my story, Heir Primary will be the same as Heir Apparent (I have absolutely no idea if it's true, this is stuff I learnt from reading _other_ fanfics) so only Heir Apparent will get mentioned. Also, if there are just daughters and no sons, then the eldest daughter will be Heiress Presumptive since they _could_ have another boy, who would become the Heir Apparent/Primary. Basically, everything that Harry said to Hermione is what it's going to be like in my fanfic, so _please_ don't complain about it.

I'm sorry if this chapter was late, but I hope you enjoyed this one.

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 6,200


	9. Discussions

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven – Discussions**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

Sirius was having a wonderful time at the Tonks' home. When he arrived that evening, he was immediately sent to take a long, hot bath to clean up. His robes – which, as nobody had bothered to give him new ones, were still the ones that he had worn the day he went to confront Peter – were taken away by Andromeda Tonks, and he was given some robes of Ted Tonks' that Ted had outgrown. Then, he had been temporarily moved into the guest bedroom – "this is until you're legally freed and can return to your own home," Andromeda explained – and for the first time in a decade, he had a proper, hot meal and an actual bed with fluffy, white pillows and clean sheets.

There was a knock on the door, and Andromeda came into his room. "Hello, Sirius," Andromeda said before he could say anything. "Now, this is _not_ a catch-up session; we can do that another time. I need to access your health and give you a full checkup, to see what damage has been done to you, so I can give you some potions to heal you a little before the trial, so you don't look like a skeleton."

"What about my clothes?" Sirius asked. "What am I going to do with them that means you haven't 'ceremoniously' burned them yet?"

"You have to wear them for the trial, unfortunately," Andromeda said. "As nobody besides 'Dora, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Auror Williamson and Madam Bones know about you being released, it's got to be like you had just come from the boat off Azkaban, straight into the DMLE's holding cells and then to the chamber."

"I see," Sirius said. "But could you please give them a wash, or maybe replace them? Nobody's going to remember what I wore ten years ago, anyway."

"Of course," Andromeda said. "But we're not here to talk about the state of your robes, we're here to talk about the state of your health." She took her wand out and started casting spells over him. "Hmm... Nutrition, Muscle-Repairing, Diet Enhancer, Growth Enhancer, Cell-Repairing, Dementor Exposure Cure, Dreamless Sleep... you'll need to take all of those thrice a day apart from the Dreamless Sleep, which you'll only need to take every night before you sleep to ensure you sleep well so your body can heal."

"Thanks, 'Dromeda," Sirius said. "Now, when can I see Harry?"

"After you're freed," Andromeda said. "Harry knows you've been freed already and maybe his friends do, but no one else does and we can't take the risk."

"I see," Sirius said. "But couldn't I just meet Harry at nighttime, maybe in Hogsmeade? I'm sure Dumbledore would let Harry go, he's a good man. I still remember all those years ago, when I was a first-year and playing pranks and getting caught by Filch, but Dumbledore let me go with no punishment. But just another question, 'Dromeda – why didn't Dumbledore get me freed? He was the one who cast the Fidelius, he would surely know that they had changed Keepers. Also, just in case he forgot about that, James and Lily's will clearly stated that Peter was the Secret Keeper."

"That's _exactly_ what he wants you to think, that he's 'good' and 'Light'," Andromeda replied. "He never spoke a single word in your defence, but instead told everyone that _you_ were the Secret Keeper and betrayed the Potters. The will has also never been read, according to Madam Bones, but instead sealed by the Chief Warlock – Dumbledore."

" _Dumbledore_ ," Sirius hissed. "How dare he? When I become Lord Black officially, I'm going to–"

"Calm down, Sirius," Andromeda said. "That's the Gryffindor side of you talking. It's time for your _Slytherin_ side to come out and play – by destroying Dumbledore little by little, with the help of Madam Bones, Harry, and a few other trusted families, who all dislike Dumbledore as much as you do."

Sirius stopped, before saying, "I can't _believe_ I ever trusted him."

"I know," Andromeda said. "But you spent most of a decade at Hogwarts, in Gryffindor, surrounded by similarly-minded witches and wizards who all thought that Dumbledore was practically Merlin and follow and obey him blindly. I, on the other hand, spent my seven years in Hogwarts in Slytherin, surrounded by people who had been taught to distrust Dumbledore and question everything he did or said and to report back to our families."

"I suppose," Sirius said. "But still! I was raised for eleven years by my mother and father, Orion and Walburga Black, and they were true Slytherins and never trusted anyone, and barely trusted each other as it was. On a side note, how is Mother? I know Father passed away in 1979, but what happened to Mother?"

"She's dead," Andromeda replied, without much emotion. "She passed away in 1985, six years ago. She was buried at Black Cemetery, and there was a funeral which, I hear, hardly anyone went to apart from family that felt obligated to. I'll take you there once you're free, if you like."

"No thank you," Sirius said. "But I wish to see both grandfathers once more after I'm free. Which one is the current Lord Black?"

"I'm afraid they're both dead," Andromeda said. "Grandfather Pollux passed away last year, and as you know, he had no claim to the title of Lord Black. Grandfather Arcturus passed away earlier this year, in March, so he was the last Lord Black. As Father was only an Heir even after Lucretia was disowned, since by that time you and Regulus had been born and you were still living, Bella's and Cissy's husbands couldn't claim the Lordship. So there is no one who currently holds the title Lord Black."

"So _that_ will be one of the things I must rectify first," Sirius said. "How are your sisters anyway? I know Bella's in Azkaban, but what about Cissy?"

"Cissy's doing well," Andromeda replied. "She has a son now: Draco Lucius Malfoy. I've never met him personally, but Cissy has shown me pictures and told me about him when we meet in secret, against her husband's and the remaining Blacks' wishes. She's also now the perfect, high-society, pureblood wife that she was raised to be, and she says she has a happy marriage with Lucius, even though he's a Death Eater and she's not."

"I know that he is," Sirius said, "but I'm glad to hear that _she_ isn't. She was always one of my favourite family members." Andromeda nodded, before the two began to recall and talk about old family times, before the war and everything else had happened.

.

* * *

.

While Andromeda and Sirius were catching up on old times, Molly Weasley was sitting in the kitchen of the Burrow watching as one of Arthur's worn socks mended itself and thinking. Earlier that afternoon, while Arthur was at work and while Ginny was reading a letter from Bill that had just arrived, Dumbledore had Floo-called her from Hogwarts and asked to speak to her privately. Molly obviously agreed – after all, he _was_ the Leader of the Light.

"Molly, I've got quite a bit of work to do, so I won't be able to talk for very long," Dumbledore had said. "I know it's none of my business, but I've been thinking lately that Harry and Ginny would be perfect together as a couple and since your family are such staunch supporters of the Light, it would make sense for Harry and Ginny to be together."

"Yes, I agree," Molly said. "In fact, how is Ron getting along with Harry? Do you think that Harry would be willing to come to the Burrow for the whole of next summer?"

"Unfortunately, I doubt it at this point in time," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "Apparently, Ron's best friend is a Stephen Cornfoot, and Harry doesn't seem to be interested in becoming friends with Ron. As the two of them are in different Houses–"

" _What?_ " Molly said, starting to shout. "I thought you said that Harry would be in Gryffindor with Ron! You said that they would become best friends! You said that–"

"Calm down, Molly," Dumbledore said. "I do have a plan, but it involves loyalty potions in his food, as well as love potions, for Harry so he will become good friends, if not best friends, with Ron and take Ginny for his second wife."

" _Second_ wife?" Molly shouted. "I thought Ginny was going to be his only wife and Lady Potter!"

"Yes, she still _will_ be Lady Potter," Dumbledore said. "As Harry is going to become both Lord Potter and Lord Greengrass, he has a right to take two wives. Unfortunately, one of them must be Daphne Greengrass, as she is the one who brought the Greengrass Lordship to him. It would be much simpler without her and the Greengrass Lordship and Headship, but unfortunately their betrothal is unbreakable and has existed for quite some time."

" _Betrothal?_ " Molly shouted again. "What do you mean, betrothal?"

"Molly, I suggest that you read _The Daily Prophet_ 's gossip column," Dumbledore said, sighing. "According to Cygnus and Isabel Greengrass, a few generations ago, there was a huge Muggle war. The Greengrasses and Potters were both involved, and as a result, both were nearly wiped out in the male line. So the two current Lords decided to create a betrothal: if either House did not have a male Heir, an unbreakable betrothal would activate between the Heir and the Heiress Apparents. As you know, Isabel cannot bear any more children after Astoria, so the betrothal has been activated."

"But... but...but," Molly spluttered.

"Calm down, Molly," Dumbledore said. "I have a plan now for the potions. So for the first year, I'll have a house-elf dose Harry's food with the loyalty potions as Ron can't be counted on with something as important as this. This is, after all, the solid grounding needed for Harry's relationship with your family to build up. Unfortunately, Harry has strong Occlumency barriers, so I'll have Severus brew one with an alchemical component. Then for the second year, a house-elf will dose the food with stronger loyalty potions. The potions should get stronger with each year passing. Then when Ginny is in her second year so she has some time to mature first, she will begin dosing Harry's food with love potions, again with an alchemical component. These too will grow stronger with each year. Hopefully by the time Ginny is seventeen, she will be engaged to Harry."

"But how am I supposed to persuade Ginny to do that?" Molly asked.

"By telling her about how wonderful Harry is and about the money waiting for her if she has a child that will become the future Lord Potter," Dumbledore said, looking behind him. "Oh dear, it looks like someone is trying to get into my office. I'd better see who wishes to contact me urgently." He then withdrew his head from the fireplace, and the flames in the fireplace turned from green to red again.

.

* * *

.

The next day was a Friday, something people were very happy about. "Last day of school of the week, and then it's the weekend," Hannah said happily as that morning as the group of friends ate lunch at the Hufflepuff table. "Plus, we get this super long break this afternoon, so we can take a break from our work and studies."

"But we still have to do a little bit," Hermione said. "I mean, we have minor half-term exams coming up at the end of October, and if we don't start studying, we're going to have to spend ages studying when the time comes or we'll fail and made to stay behind one year or even worse, be expelled from Hogwarts!"

"I highly doubt you'll be made to stay behind one year or expelled because you failed half-term exams," Neville said. "It's mostly the end-of-year exams that count, anyway."

"Yeah, and we've got one and a half months or so until half-term exams," Tracey said. "Relax a little, Hermione. We'll all go mad if we study and work all the time without taking any breaks. Have you ever heard of the quote 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull wizard'?"

"I heard it was 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'," Hermione said. "But I guess that's the wizarding version of the quote."

"It was originally a wizarding quote anyway," Tracey said. "You should read _From Wizard to Muggle: Stories of Famous Quotes_. It's a book with stories of quotes that people believe are Muggle quotes, but are originally from wizarding folk. It's not always very interesting, but some of them can be funny."

"We can decide what we're going to do later," Harry said. "But first, we've got to concentrate on _today's_ classes. The bell's going to ring in about fifteen minutes, so shouldn't we be heading off to class now?"

"I suppose we should," Hermione said. "Meet you guys in the library later?"

"Of course," Daphne said, and everyone else nodded their agreement, before heading off to their last classes of the day and of the week, as it was Friday.

.

* * *

.

Exactly two hours later, Albus Dumbledore was seated in his office with his four Heads of Houses. On his right hand, Minerva McGonagall was seated with Filius Flitwick on _her_ right; and on Dumbledore's left Severus Snape sat with Pomona Sprout on his left. Flitwick was obviously on Sprout's left, as they sat in a circle, with Dumbledore on his usual chair and the rest of the staff in chairs that they had conjured for themselves. McGonagall was seated in a wooden chair, Flitwick was seated in a similar chair but with long legs so he could be level with the rest of the staff, Snape was seated in a black chair and Sprout had one with a cushion that had a pattern of flowers.

"Very well, if nobody has anything more to discuss about young Miss Sally-Anne Perks, I suppose we must move on to Mister Potter," Dumbledore continued. "What do you think he is like, and do you believe he needs help in any way? Minerva, would you like to start?"

"Mister Potter is a young boy who works well in my class, and has grasped the concept of what we have learnt so far well, similar to his father," McGonagall began. "His grades so far in my class, both in homework and the grade for the day, are all 'O's, without exception. I don't believe he needs any kind of help whatsoever in my class, but I believe he would be a good tutor for some people who need help as he knows how to teach people, namely his friends who aren't as good as him at Transfiguration."

"Mister Potter shows a good understanding of Herbology, but I don't think he truly enjoys it," Sprout said as soon as McGonagall finished. "His grades so far are always 'O's, similar to what Minerva said. He has well-written essays and does well in class, but he lacks the..." She paused for a moment to work out what she wanted to say, before continuing, "the _love_ of plants required if you wish to do well on a Herbology N.E.W.T. for the practical. I don't think he needs any help either in his class, but neither do I think he would be a good Herbology tutor as he lacks the emotions and feeling for plants."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "Filius? Snape? Would one of you like to go next?"

"Me," Flitwick said in his squeaky voice. "Mister Potter also has grasped the concept of Charms well, just like his mother. His grades, both in homework and the grade for the day's work, are also 'O's without exception. He doesn't need any help either, but I think he would be a good tutor as I believe he enjoys Charms, although he seems to be held-back from his potential in learning. Perhaps he could join the accelerated Charms program, if it's still available today?"

"I don't believe that would be wise for now," Dumbledore said, frowning. "Perhaps we can talk about this later in the year. It is, after all, in my opinion far too early in their education to talk about such things as he is just recently eleven, unlike some who are soon to turn twelve. Snape, it's your turn."

" _Mister_ Potter is an arrogant boy," began Snape, "who, just like his father, is big-headed and irritating to put up with. But although he is arrogant, he has an average understanding of first-year Potions at least. I have had him for two lessons so far, and for the first lesson, I gave him an 'O', but for the second, he received an 'E' as his potion was not as good as some other potions, belonging to fine boys such as Draco Malfoy."

"Are you sure you aren't thinking of his father, Severus?" McGonagall said, frowning. "This is Harry Potter, remember, not James Potter."

Snape's face started turning colder. "All Potters are just as arrogant and big-headed," he snarled.

"Very well, now we are done with your subjects, let's continue to the other classes," Dumbledore said. "History of Magic, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy and Flying."

"Cuthbert didn't even seem to know who Mister Potter was," Flitwick said. "Again, he doesn't seem to know any of the students at all, so I suppose he is no exception. DADA is currently a free-study period, as I have told you quite a number of times."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said. "Well, what about Astronomy and Flying? Do you believe he will be as good as his father was on a broom?"

"Aurora says Mister Potter is decent at Astronomy," Flitwick continued. "He apparently works quite quickly, but it is too soon to tell whether he will be good or not. After all, they have only had one Astronomy class so far. Rolanda says the boy is quite good at flying, but again, it is too soon to tell whether he will be good at flying or not, like his father, and I don't know if he will be on the Quidditch team or not. But if he does make it, imagine! Youngest player on a Quidditch team in a century!"

"Yes, yes, just like him to be special, the arrogant brat," Snape snarled.

"Severus, I know you dislike Mister Potter, but please try to keep a civilised tongue in your head when speaking about your students," McGonagall said. "I do not care whether you like them or not, whether they are Muggleborn or pureblood, whether they come from an ancient wizarding family or not and so on, but please refrain from calling them names. You have already called two Muggleborns 'Mudblood', and we aren't even finished with the first-year list! If you really insist on continuing with this attitude, I will be going over Albus' head and complaining directly to the School Board."

Snape sat up, horrified, and looked at Dumbledore. "Albus! She can't do that!"

Dumbledore frowned. "Minerva, that would be a rather _unwise_ thing to do," he said, to try and head her off this idea. "Professor Snape is a highly-respected, talented–"

"And nothing," McGonagall said. "I won't deny that he is talented in the field of Potions, but I certainly do not believe that he can teach, nor is well-respected. In fact, out of all the staff, I have had the most complaints about him every year without fail, which has gone on since he first arrived to become a professor."

"They have too high a standard for professors," Dumbledore said, waving it off. Never mind, he would soon be able to make her change her mind about this. After all, he _was_ the great Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, Defeater of Grindelwald and Holder of Order of Merlin, First Class, and she was just the Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor. "We can discuss this _later_ , Minerva, or we'll never get through everybody. Next..." And so the meeting went on.

.

* * *

.

That afternoon, the group of friends were in the library as usual, studying and doing homework so they didn't have it hanging over their heads all weekend, and as usual Harry had finished first. "I've got to write a letter, so I won't be leaving you though," Harry said. "I've _completely_ forgotten that the goblins told me I would be allowed to have a full copy of the Potter financial holdings three weeks after I turned eleven, and now I need to write to them and see if they would owl me a copy."

"I don't think they will," Luna said. "I've heard they can be very paranoid. Wouldn't it be better if you arranged for a meeting on the day of _his_ trial?"

"How do you know about that?" Harry asked. "I thought I didn't tell you yet."

"Oh, you didn't," Luna said. "The fairies told me. They suggested the meeting as well."

"Er... I'll try and arrange a meeting," Harry said. "I don't know how amicable the goblins are now."

"Not very, I'd say," Susan said, holding a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ up. "Harry, don't you have a copy in your bag? Well, anyway, there was a break-in to Gringotts on your birthday, and they've tied the news up very tightly while they investigated. Anyway, somebody's managed to find out, and now this reporter named Rita Skeeter has written a front-page article about the break-in and asking whether Gringotts is still safe or not."

Hannah grimaced. "Urgh, I hate that Rita Skeeter," she said. "Her pieces are the most _awful_ articles in the _Daily Prophet_ , and half of it is just lies to show whoever pays her the most money in a good light, and their enemy in a bad light. The money comes from bribes from people like the Dark familes, of course."

"Yeah, but for some reason everyone takes whatever's in the _Daily Prophet_ as unquestionable truth, so she gets away with lying," Neville said.

"My father used to visit her with a bag of gold when people started thinking badly in any way about him," Draco said, "and the next day, there would always be a front-page article about some charity my father donated to, writing him as a 'hero' and things like that. Mother doesn't like bribing people, but she has no choice but to agree with Father."

Tracey shuddered. "I certainly hope my future husband doesn't have that attitude," she said. "I'd hate to become like your mother – no offence meant, Draco – having to agree with my husband even if I _completely_ disagreed with him. But your mother's quite beautiful, so I wouldn't mind _looking_ like her."

"Yes, I've seen her at Ministry Balls and at other social events where the Heirs and Heiresses were also invited to," Daphne said. "She looks very pretty. But anyway, weren't we talking about the goblins, and Harry arranging a meeting with them on the day of somebody's trial? Speaking of that, Harry, whose trial is it and why is it so secret?"

Harry smiled at her. "First, we _were_ actually talking about the meeting, and secondly, I could tell you, but _please_ , keep it a secret to yourselves for the next week."

"We will," Neville said. "Does everyone promise to keep it a secret?"

Everyone nodded, and in unison, said, "We do." A small flash of light went off, signalling that magic had accepted their promise.

Harry nodded, before leaning close into them and whispering, "It's the trial of Sirius Black the Third of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. It turns out he's never been given a trial, but instead thrown into Azkaban because 'everyone knew' he was 'guilty without question', and therefore there was 'no need to waste money and resources better spent on repairing Magical Britain' on an 'useless trial'. I accidentally set the wheels of motion going, by asking the Greengrasses for some information, and Aunt Amelia just followed up and is now arranging for his trial to be on the Sunday next week. I now need to convince Dumbledore – as I'm sure Professor Flitwick will agree – that I should be allowed to go to the trial for 'legal purposes', as well as to see Sirius as he is my sworn godfather."

"I'll help you come up with some defences," Pansy volunteered. "I'm hoping to become a Law-witch when I'm older, even if I'm not sure my father will allow me to."

Draco put his arm around Pansy. "Don't worry, Pans," he said. "Once we're married, I'll make sure that you get to become a Law-witch. After all, I'll be the Lord of the Worthy and Elder Houses of Malfoy and Parkinson, and be one of the only few to have a dual Lordship, and you'll be one of the only few to have a dual Ladyship. _Everyone_ will be clamouring for your services by that time, even the traditionalists once they get over their love of tradition."

"Thanks, Dray," Pansy said, looking up at him, eyes shining.

"And this is the moment that they're going to kiss each other passionately," Susan muttered, and the two stopped.

"You ruined the moment for them," Hannah said. "Come on though, we've got to finish with our homework and Harry's got to write his letter." The ten of them then settled down with their books, and Harry with his piece of parchment and quill. As usual, he drafted it in his mind, before putting quill to parchment and writing:

 _Dear Stoneclaw,_

 _I have recently remembered that according to my parents' wishes, I was to be allowed a full copy of the Potter Holdings approximately three weeks after my eleventh birthday. As it is now over a month past my eleventh birthday, I was wondering if I could have a full copy of it for my reference and to figure out how best to invest part of the Potter fortune to bring in more gold, both from the Muggle and magical worlds._ _As I probably won't understand quite a bit, having been raised in the Muggle world instead of the magical world, I would also like to arrange a meeting for the Sunday the fifteenth of September, as I will (hopefully) be allowed out for "legal purposes", preferably in the afternoon._

 _May your vaults fill with gold, and your enemies perish,  
Harrison "Harry" James Potter of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter_

He then checked that it was dry, before rolling it up and tucking it away in his bag. He would go to the Owlery later on to send it off with Hedwig.

.

* * *

.

A couple of hours later, it was dinnertime, and Harry and his friends were sitting at the Gryffindor table at Neville's insistence. As they sat down, the Gryffindors quickly made room for them, so they ended up sitting across from each other – Harry, Daphne, Tracey, Hermione and Luna in that order were sitting on one side, and Pansy, Draco, Hannah, Neville and Susan in that order were seated on the opposite side, so Pansy ended up being next to a dark-skinned girl called Angelina Johnson, and Harry ended up next to Fred and George Weasley, the two red-haired twins, two of Ron's elder brothers and the "Hogwarts Pranksters", as they were dubbed.

Everything was fine between them – Harry was having a conversation with the twins about Quidditch and pranking, while the rest were talking amongst themselves – until Ron Weasley came into the Great Hall and headed over to the Gryffindor table. As soon as he was within a meter of the table and close enough to be heard, he spotted the four Slytherins sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table and immediately said loudly, "What are those slimy snakes doing here? They don't belong at the Gryffindor table!"

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but one of the Weasley twins – Harry couldn't tell who was whom yet – beat him to it. "First, they are eating dinner with their friends, one of which is Harry Potter, the boy you seem to always be boasting in Gryffindor Tower is your best friend..."

"And secondly, they are allowed to be here, as this is not a feast and therefore, they don't need to sit at Slytherin table," the other twin said. "Ronniekins, are you so hungry that you've forgotten that they _are_ allowed to be here?"

Ron frowned. "But–"

"But nothing," the first twin said, rising to his feet, and his twin followed. "Come on, Ronniekins, I suppose that we need to have a quick talk first about a subject that apparently, neither Dad, Bill, Charlie nor Percy have ever talked to you about." The three – with the twins half-carrying Ron from the Hall – exited and the ten finished their dinner in peace with a little conversation, before leaving to find the twins.

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* * *

.

Back at the Tonks' house, Sirius was feeling much better. That day, he had started his Potions regime – which involved downing Nutrition, Muscle-Repairing, Diet Enhancer, Growth Enhancer, Cell-Repairing and Dementor Exposure Cure potions thrice a day – and it had gone a long way to making him feel better, as did a twelve-hour sleep last night and an hour-long bath that afternoon. But the downside of the potions was that it was almost forcing him to eat and sleep, which meant that even though it was only about seven-thirty at night, he wanted to sleep.

"You _have_ to sleep if you want to," Andromeda firmly instructed him. "These potions are slightly stronger than before, as we need to get you up to at least adequate shape during the next week, so they will make you want to eat and sleep, so your body can heal properly."

"Yeah, but then I won't be able to _do_ anything that I need to to get the House of Black back into shape, like it was before," Sirius whined. "I have a whole list of things that I need to do, and the list is already a _foot_ long! Some of it is minor, but some of it could shape the future of the House of Black."

"How do you have so much?" Andromeda asked. "You're supposed to be _resting_! And how are you supposed to do anything if you aren't free yet?"

"I got a Floo-call from Madam Bones this morning. She said that the goblins have been alerted that the House of Black is now active again, since I'm getting my trial soon, so I can 'make a start' on the financial-related things," Sirius explained. "That's nice of her to do. If you – or Dora or Ted – see her before my trial and before I'm allowed out around the Ministry or something, could you make sure to thank her on my behalf for thinking about the House of Black?"

"I will," Andromeda nodded. "But first, you need to take your Dreamless Sleep potion. You'll be asleep for _at least_ twelve hours, as your body is in the initial stages of healing, so if you sleep now then you'll be able to get up on time tomorrow morning to have breakfast with Ted and I, even though it's a Saturday tomorrow, as the two of us have appointments with other people. I'm not sure about Dora, though. Her shift starts at four o'clock in the afternoon, so I don't think she'll get up that early, considering she's only off work at midnight and that she's rather lazy about getting up early in the morning."

"That reminds me," Sirius said. "I was training to become a part-time Auror before I was sent to Azkaban, as I thought I had been Disowned and needed a job. Even though I'm Lord Black – or soon-to-be, anyway – I'd like to start a part-time Aurorship, so I have a bit more authority regarding the DMLE, and it also gives me a bit of physical exercise."

Andromeda nodded again. "I'll make sure to tell Madam Bones that," she said, before placing a vial of milky-white potion on his bedside table. "After you've taken your Dreamless Sleep potion," she indicated at the rack of potions on top of his chest-of-drawers, "take this potion. It will enhance your healing magic. I'll be back in five minutes to check on you. There's a jug of water next to your potions." Sirius nodded, and Andromeda left.

When she returned five minutes later, the vial of Dreamless Sleep potion had refilled itself – with a small red mark on the cork to show that he had, after all, taken it and not just left it there – and the vial of milky-white potion was empty. Sirius himself was sleeping comfortably by then on the bed. Andromeda nodded to herself, before flicking her wand to extinguish the magical light, exiting and closing the door softly behind her.

.

* * *

Hey guys!

Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites for the last chapter! I got a lot of reviews that asked whether or not Harry was going to have a second wife, and if he was could it please not be Ginny or Hermione. I'll tell you that the answer is no, Harry is only going to have Daphne. In my fanfic, Hermione is going to end up with someone else, and I have other plans for Ginny that _don't_ include her ending up in a relationship with Harry in any way.

And another thing about Potions – in my fanfic, Gryffindors are with Hufflepuffs _and_ Ravenclaws on different days. So basically, one day they're with Hufflepuff, the next they're with Ravenclaw. As they're all in first year, they should have an equal amount of lessons and learn things (in class) at the same speed. And for the exams, in this fanfic, they're going to have exams four times a year, because I could hardly believe that they only had exams once a year at the end of the year (I mean, do or did you have exams only once a year when you were in secondary?), and I'm trying to make it a bit more realistic.

I've also had another idea for my fanfiction (maybe brought on by watching too many episodes of _Pretty Little Liars_ ). My idea was that every 13 chapters, I would do some kind of "flashback" chapter, to have a look at someone's life before. Please tell me what you think about this idea, and if you like it, review or message me what sort of flashbacks you want me to write (it can't be a super-short one, and I'd rather it not be Halloween 1981 – although it does have the "spooky" and "Halloween" theme like _Pretty Little Liars_ – as I've already written it from Harry's Point Of View in Chapter 3.

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 6,100


	10. A Nice, Relaxing Weekend

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol. J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve - A Nice, Relaxing Weekend**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

The next morning, Harry was greeted to the sound of birds chirping as he woke up and slowly stretched. _Today's the day I'm definitely starting my exercise routine_ , he thought to himself. After a quick, hot shower – as even though it was only one week into September, the castle was starting to get cooler, due to the fact it was in Scotland, which was north of England – he put his new exercise clothes from Hong Kong on and made his way outside the castle.

Outside, a cool breeze blew off from the lake, and a giant tentacle poked out from the surface of the lake. Ignoring it, Harry started to run around the castle, which wasn't _too_ bad for the first ten minutes or so. But after twenty minutes, he started feeling tired. After thirty minutes – and after he had made his way around nearly half of the castle, with the thought that his many chores at the Dursleys' and running away from Dudley must have made himself slightly fitter – then he definitely felt tired. After forty, he was ready to have a break, and after fifty, he had a cramp in his stomach and a strong desire to sit down and have a long rest.

 _No, I have to keep going_ , Harry told himself. _Last ten minutes, and then I'm going back inside for breakfast. That should be enough for the first day_. With that thought, he was able to make it back to the front doors, before sitting down and having a good, long drink of water from a water bottle the elves had been kind enough to provide him with. After a few minutes, he dragged himself up to his dorm, before almost collapsing on his bed.

"Where've you been, Harry?" Terry Boot, the boy whose bed was next to Harry's, said as he brushed his hair and looked at himself in the mirror he had on his nightstand. "You look really tired, maybe you should get in a few more hours' worth of sleep? It won't hurt anybody for you to catch a little more sleep."

"I've been exercising, and I've arranged to meet my friends at breakfast, so I can't have a few hours of sleep right now. Maybe I'll sleep earlier tonight instead," Harry said, before waving at the other three beds, whose occupants, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein and Oliver Rivers were still abed and wrapped in their sheets and quilts. "Are Michael, Anthony and Oliver still asleep? Won't they miss breakfast if they don't get up and get ready for breakfast soon?"

"Breakfast ends at ten a.m., instead of nine-thirty, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, due to all the people who like to have long lie-ins," Terry explained. "It also starts at six a.m., instead of seven, on Saturday and Sunday mornings, for those who, like you, like getting up early to do exercise. As long as Michael, Anthony and Oliver get up before nine-thirty, they should make it to the Great Hall to have some breakfast, even if they're definitely not going to be the first ones there. Lunch starts at twelve, and lasts until two for the people who like late lunches, and dinner is from five to nine instead for those who like early or late dinners on weekends."

"I see," Harry said. "We're allowed to wear our own clothes today, as it's a weekend, aren't we?"

"Yep," Terry answered. "But they have to be robes; you're not allowed to wear Muggle clothing at Hogwarts unless given permission to by a professor, as this is a 'magical learning environment', and therefore not part of the Muggle world. Traditionalists also say that Muggle clothing in the wizarding world should be banned, as it 'disrespects magical history', and Hogwarts – or at least, Headmaster Dumbledore – has apparently agreed that it should be banned at Hogwarts."

"That makes no sense," Harry said. "What about the Muggleborns, who don't have robes apart from school ones because they simply don't _need_ other ones, and it's not on the list of supplies? Do they have to wear their school uniforms all year-round, whenever they're at Hogwarts?"

"Yep," Terry replied. "I know it's not very fair, considering that purebloods will have a wide variety of robes and wizarding fashion to wear, while Muggleborns won't." The two of them fell silent. Harry then got up and went over to his trunk, picking out a set of emerald-green robes that he had put under his school robes, at the top compartment. He then went into the first-year Ravenclaw boys' bathroom, and headed over to the shower. After he quickly towelled off, he donned his robes and made his way down to breakfast.

.

* * *

.

Back at the Tonks' house, Sirius was having breakfast with Ted and Andromeda in their kitchen, while talking about the day that lay ahead of them. For Andromeda, she had a few appointments from those who wanted or needed a meeting with a Healer and were only free on weekends; and for Ted – or Edwards, which Sirius discovered was his full name – then he had a case for a client of his to work on as he now worked as a Law-wizard. He had apparently always wanted to be a lawyer, starting when he was in the Muggle world and was in Muggle primary, and now that he lived in the wizarding world he had become a Law-wizard instead.

"And I _need_ to head to Gringotts," Sirius insisted. "Couldn't I use your Floo?"

"I suppose so, but the goblins need to approve it first," Ted said. "I've had quite a few dealings with goblins and Gringotts in general, as quite a few cases of mine have to do with money and gold, or otherwise some kind of valuable treasure or family jewellery. They don't take very kindly to wizards just turning up on their Floo, so they've blocked all wizarding Floos apart from the Minister and the Head of the DMLE, as well as a few trusted people."

"Then I'll write a letter, and ask to meet tomorrow," Sirius said. "Could I please have a few sheets of parchment and a quill after breakfast?"

"Of course you can," Andromeda said. "Don't forget to take your potions, though. You're looking a _lot_ healthier, now that you've had a couple of nights' worth of _proper_ sleep in a real bed, actual baths with soap and a day's worth of potions. And of course, don't forget to eat. You _need_ to eat, and you can eat whatever we have in the kitchen."

"I will," Sirius said. "I'll be paying you back, of course. Just tell me the total cost of what I've eaten, and I'll repay you once I'm free."

"There's really no need," Ted said. "Just think of all the times you would have come to our house for meals if you had been a free man – for dinner, Christmas and birthdays and such like – and think of all the food you would have eaten anyway. There's no need to pay us back."

"I want to," Sirius said stubbornly. "Oh, and before I forget, 'Dromeda – I'll be officially bringing you back into the House of Black and re-establishing your family stipend for 2000 Galleons per year once I'm Lord Black. Ted, I'm officially recognising you as an in-law of the House of Black, and bringing you under its protection. I'm also officially recognising 'Dora as a daughter of the House of Black, and bringing you three and all your descendants under the protection. You'll also have access to family magics."

"Thank you," Andromeda said softly. "I've always wanted to be brought back into the House of Black."

"I'm going to be Disowning Bellatrix for being a Death Eater," Sirius continued, "and I'm going to recognise Harry as Heir Apparent – as Black magics insist on a _male_ being Heir Apparent only – but 'Dromeda, you'll become Heiress Presumptive and Dora will become Heiress Secondary. I suppose I have to recognise Draco Malfoy as Heir Tertiary though, since I've never really met him and thus, can't form a positive or negative opinion of him, and 'Cissa's done nothing wrong to get herself and Draco Disowned. Oh, and I'm also going to be voiding Bellatrix and Rodolphus' marriage contract."

"For what reason?" Ted asked. "I've always wanted to know how the Black family's pureblood marriage contracts were like."

"I'm not sure yet," Sirius said. "But I'm sure I can find a reason to. The Blacks – including Bella's, 'Cissa's and 'Dromeda's mother and father, Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella – were very paranoid and always had lots of clauses, sections, subclauses and subsections written into any contract that they signed."

"I see," Ted said, before pushing his plate back and standing up. "Well, I'd better get going. 'Dromeda, are you coming? Sirius, we're sorry to leave you now, but we really have to go. If you need to contact me, contact me at Tonks & Thomas Corporation, a law company that I'm partner of with one of my best friends. The stationery is on my desk, in the study. You can use as much as you like, but I'd prefer it if you didn't use _all_ of it."

"I won't use _all_ of it," Sirius said. Ted nodded, before holding his arm out to Andromeda and the two Apparated away, leaving Sirius alone in the kitchen.

.

* * *

.

By eight o'clock in the morning, Harry, Neville, Draco, Hermione and Luna were the only ones down for breakfast out of the ten friends, as the other five girls had probably gotten up later than usual and therefore, started their morning routine later than usual, and were thus taking longer to get down to the Great Hall for breakfast. "They'll probably be down soon, though," Hermione said. "Their hair can't take as long as mine to tame."

"You know you don't _have_ to keep it bushy if you don't want to, right?" Neville asked Hermione. "There's a potion called Sleakeazy's Hair Potion, invented by Harry's grandfather, which is especially effective at taming bushy and messy hair and making it sleek. Ironically, Harry's grandfather's and his father's hair, as well as Harry's, is also some of the most unruly hair you'll ever see, which I suspect was why the potion was invented anyway."

"Really?" Hermione asked. "How could I get that?"

"But you'll have to use liberal amounts," Draco said. "I'm not an expert, but maybe you should try getting some kind of special hair conditioner and shampoo that's specially brewed for you? My mother has some of that, and she uses that when she needs her hair to look really good for things like Ministry balls and high-society events."

"How could I get that?" Hermione asked, and as she looked around at the three boys and Luna, each of them shrugged in turn. "Never mind, I'll ask one of the other five girls."

"What did you want to ask us?" Daphne said, sliding into the seat next to Harry. "Well, Tracey, Pansy and I are here, so you can ask us."

"Draco mentioned a special hair conditioner and shampoo that might tame my hair," Hermione explained. "I wanted to know where I could get some, so I could fix my hair. I _really_ don't like how my hair's so bushy and hard to tame, especially when I need to go to something semi-formal or formal with my parents."

"Ah, I know what you mean," Daphne said. "I've got some for semi-formal and formal events. I can get you the forms to fill in and owl off to the correct address, they're always included in the back of _Teen Witch Weekly_ when that company, Calming Curls, takes out an ad in _Teen Witch Weekly_. But until then, I can always lend you some of my shampoo and conditioner. It should work well enough, although once you've got yours then it'll be even better."

"Thank you," Hermione said. "I've looked almost _everywhere_ where I live to find a shampoo and conditioner that works for my hair and can tame it into something better than my current bushy hair, but even the ones that promised they would 'tame untameable hair' didn't work for me."

"That's because of all the magic," Tracey explained. "And while we're on the subject of outward appearances, what about your teeth?"

"What do you mean by that?" Hermione asked.

"How your front two teeth stick out," Tracey said. "You do know that you can easily get them fixed in the wizarding world, right? I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would be happy to help you fix your two front teeth so they fit very well. That's why a lot of witches and wizards have perfect, clean, white teeth – because of spells and/or potions."

"I didn't know that," Hermione said. "When I was in the Muggle world, I was planning to get braces once all my baby teeth had fallen out, but I can't because I'm at Hogwarts for most of the year, and braces require check-ups every few months or so. Mum and Dad, who are both dentists – those are Muggle teeth Healers, since we don't have spells or potions – recommend check-ups every six to eight weeks for their patients who have braces. But I was planning to get them fixed once I'm out of Hogwarts."

"Well, I can always take you to see Madam Pomfrey after breakfast," Tracey said, and Hermione nodded frantically. "But eat your breakfast first, or you won't have anything to eat until twelve, or you want to come back down. You'll also need energy for the rest of the morning."

Hermione nodded again, and made herself a plate of breakfast and quickly polishing off, which Tracey also did. " _Now_ can we go?" Hermione asked. "And does Madam Pomfrey have anything to fix my hair, just like she can fix my teeth? I wouldn't mind being able to fix it permanently."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think so," Tracey said. "Just that shampoo and conditioner, otherwise then I don't think there's anything. But yes, I'll take you now." Hermione nodded eagerly, before leaping up and almost dragging Tracey out of the Great Hall in her excitement to fix her teeth, which elicited chuckles from the remaining six of the group, as Hannah and Susan had yet to arrive. They were probably sleeping in late, just like many others.

.

* * *

.

After breakfast, Harry asked Daphne to take a walk with him around the school grounds, as the first thing that they ever did together, just the two of them and without anyone else, whether adults or their friends. Daphne quickly accepted, and, their friends seeing that this was going to be the first "Haphne" date-but-not-a-proper-date, quickly backed off and said that they had a lot of work to finish and study, as they didn't have eidetic memories and needed to study so they would get good grades.

Once they were out on the school grounds, there was, yet again, a cool breeze coming off the lake. A few other couples had apparently had the same idea, and were strolling around together, hand-in-hand and talking. The two of them walked in silence for a few minutes, before Daphne asked, "So, what do you think about the girls in our year and even some in the year above, who are all crushing on you, some of them rather obviously?" Daphne asked.

"Nothing, other than that they're a nuisance," Harry said, shrugging. "I've noticed quite a few of them attempting to come up to me and trying to talk to me, but they're always deterred by others." He paused for a few seconds, but quickly said, "But don't worry, Daphne, you'll always be my one-and-only."

"Just because I'm your betrothed?" Daphne asked, raising one eyebrow.

"That, and also..." Harry hesitated for a moment. "Well, haven't you noticed that during the month we've known each other for, we've gotten a lot closer now?"

"I...think so," Daphne said. "I think it's because of the magic of the betrothal contract. When a contract is created in the magical world, magic is always involved in it. Relationship contracts, especially betrothal ones, are especially 'brimming' with magic. Ours has no escape clauses, so it's especially... how do I put it... well, it just makes us even closer. Mother Magic knows we can't escape, so she's making sure that we're at least happy and close with each other. Dad's actually looking into the nature of our betrothal contract, to see if any others existed and what happened to the two Houses involved. So far, he hasn't found anything similar."

"What do you think would be the likely outcome of the two Houses?" Harry asked.

"Nothing, except they'd be closer," Daphne said, shrugging. "Blood is very powerful and very useful in magic, and can allow you to do many things you couldn't do without blood. For example, you could set up wards to allow or block people even better than you could by keying their magical signature into the wards, or using them to power something very well. There _is_ actually a Dark type of magic called Blood Magic, which teaches the ways of how to use blood."

"Well, I hope nobody uses it for harm, considering how powerful it is," Harry said. Daphne nodded agreement, and the two continued to talk for a couple of hours and just strolling around or sitting down under an oak tree, before going back into Hogwarts later to get some lunch and find their friends again as Harry, with the use of a Tempus Charm, found out that it was eleven-thirty. As the ten friends hadn't agreed nor decided where they would sit at lunchtime, Daphne chose to sit at the Slytherin table.

Once again, as the other members of their "friend group" arrived in a group from the library – Hermione beaming with perfectly straight and white front teeth – they had to be reassured that nothing bad was going to happen to them apart from Draco and Pansy, who were perfectly fine with sitting at Slytherin table. "We really have to fix this Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff theory that Slytherins are evil," Daphne sighed. "Look, guys, think about it. One-fourth of the wizarding population are Slytherins or former Slytherins. Surely they can't _all_ be evil Dark Lords that torture and kill for fun."

"That – makes sense, I suppose," Hannah said, confusedly.

"And just because the Dark Lord came from Slytherin doesn't mean that all Dark Lords are Slytherins and vice versa," Pansy added. "Take Gellert Grindelwald, for example. He wasn't a Slytherin, he wasn't even a Hogwarts student for that matter. He was a student at Durmstrang, before he was expelled for twisted, dark experiments."

"Durmstrang? What is Durmstrang?" Hermione asked, her interest piqued. "Is it another magical school? Where is it? How many magical schools are there all over the world?"

"Whoa, calm down, Hermione," Neville said. "Okay, so Durmstrang Institute is another magical school, which is located in the northernmost regions of either Norway or Sweden." As he saw Hermione about to interrupt, he put up his hand and went on. "The reason that nobody knows exactly where is that magical schools usually have Unplottable Wards, which means that it is impossible to see either on a map or in front of your eyes unless you have been told exactly where it is. People who visit Durmstrang also have their memories wiped about where it is, but they can describe it."

"And I think I can answer your question about magical schools," Draco said. "Over the world, there are eight magical schools. Hogwarts only accepts students from Britain, Wales and Ireland, Mahoutokoro School of Magic only accepts students from Japan, Koldovstoretz only accepts students from Russia and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic usually only accepts students from France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, although it does accept students from other countries. The other four schools accept students from all over the continent they are located in, like Castelobruxo, located in Brazil, accepts students from all over South America."

"So could I go to say, Durmstrang?" Hermione asked. "And how do you know all this anyway?"

"During the last few years before I came to Hogwarts, my father and mother would constantly talk about sending me to other magical schools, rather than Hogwarts, which they have the right to do," Draco answered. "My father was never a supporter of Dumbledore, and as the Headmaster of Durmstrang was a family friend, he wanted to send me there. They would also talk about other magical schools, besides Durmstrang, just in case the Headmasters changed or other schools became better."

"And before Draco goes off into a tangent, no, unfortunately you wouldn't have been accepted at Durmstrang," Neville said. "While they accept students from all over the world, they refuse to accept Muggleborn witches and wizards as they believe they are unworthy of magic and must have stolen magic from purebloods to get the magic they have."

"This is nonsense, of course," Daphne cut in, "but since purebloods are afraid of losing their magic and becoming Squibs, they hate Muggleborns. That's one of the reasons that Muggleborns face such hatred and prejudice today, meaning that they must work harder than purebloods, who rely on their family name, to get good jobs and earn money."

"Yes, and we can't stop this, as to do so, you would have to prove that Muggleborns don't and can't steal magic, and it's impossible to prove a negative," Susan said. "My aunt has had to deal with a lot of Death Eater-related times when they have harmed Muggleborns just because of their blood status."

"Oh look," Neville said suddenly, clearly not paying attention. "The food's appeared now, we should start eating. And by the way, what has everyone planned for the several hours between the end of lunchtime and dinner in the afternoon, seeing as we don't have classes and have finished studying and our homework?"

"I'm planning to go flying," Harry said. "I know the school's broomsticks are horrible and we would have better luck with a twig, but I want to try it again. I'm also thinking of buying – and donating – some broomsticks to Hogwarts, as they probably haven't been replaced for about fifty years."

"That _would_ be a good idea," Daphne said, hugging him. "Also, Harry, I've been looking into something about our studies. I've heard of this program called the accelerated program, you can do it in any subject you choose and can speed ahead in that subject by up to three years, depending on your level. If you are good enough in all subjects, you could finish your O.W.L.s by the end of next year and your N.E.W.T.s by the end of fourth year."

"That would be nice," Harry said, "but I don't know if I'm up to that level yet. Plus, I don't want to finish Hogwarts before you guys do, and if I went on the accelerated program and sped ahead in all subjects by three years, there would be three years' time without the nine of you, and since I'm wouldn't be of age even by then and haven't been emancipated, I can't do anything much except maybe attend Muggle school. And if I did, how would I explain missing about four years of Muggle school?"

"No, you can always just do it in one or two subjects, such as Transfiguration and Charms – your best subjects," Daphne said. "And then you would still spend seven years with us, and have free periods when we're in Transfiguration or Charms. It's just taking a few of your exams early. And about Muggle school, there's a fake Muggle school for witches and wizards that want to go to Muggle university after Hogwarts. You can put that school as where you've been for the past few years."

"There is?" Hermione asked. "I've been thinking a lot about it, as I'm part of both the wizarding and Muggle worlds now. I've been thinking that I would self-study for Muggle school, and sit my exams over summers, and after graduation then I would go to a Muggle university, preferably Cambridge as I've always wanted to go there."

"Then you should go, but think about it carefully first," Hannah said. "One of my elder sister's friends is a Muggleborn Ravenclaw, and she also wants to do the same, so over the past few years she's been studying like mad to catch up with all the Muggle stuff. You'd have to do that if you want to go, starting now, so you have to quickly make your mind up about this. I've already decided that I want to be a Healer, and that my future lies in the wizarding world, so I'm not going to take Muggle exams or anything."

"But of course, you would have a lot more options open to you in the Muggle world, if you chose to take your Muggle exams," Tracey said.

"Don't worry though, Hermione," Luna said. "We'll be here to help you along the way, through thick and thin, even if we get into arguments sometimes."

"Erm... okay, and thanks guys," Hermione said. "Alright, but we really _should_ eat now. Oh, and Neville, I wasn't really planning to do anything this afternoon – except for maybe research about the wizarding world in general, and what witches and wizards do after graduation from Hogwarts. So basically, wizarding culture."

"I have a book that would probably help you," Harry said, making up a plate of lunch for himself. "It's called _An Introduction to the Wizarding World_ , and it's available in Flourish & Blotts. Have you ever read it, or at least heard of it, or something similar to that?"

"No, I didn't have a chance when I went to Diagon Alley," Hermione said, also making up a plate of lunch. "That day, Professor McGonagall picked me up and took me to Diagon Alley. She gave me a bag of Galleons, stating that it was to help Muggleborns purchase school supplies in the wizarding world, and some extra to put in Gringotts. She also told me that I could transfer British sterling into Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, which would also gain interest like in the Muggle world, depending on how much was in there."

"I can lend it to you if you want," Harry said, beginning to eat. "It's very useful."

"I'm planning to just have a walk, or maybe play a game of wizard's chess with Pansy," Draco said. "I can teach any of you how to play wizard's chess if you don't know how."

"Maybe another time, but thanks," Harry said, and Hermione nodded agreement. After a quick discussion about the afternoon over lunch, they all headed to where they wanted to go to for the afternoon, which for them was the library yet again. It was quickly becoming their favourite place to go to, as well as the place they went to most often.

.

* * *

.

That dinnertime, as they sat at the Ravenclaw table, they were joined by Cho Chang and a friend of hers, who slipped into seats near them. "Hi, guys," Cho said. "Harry, Daphne, I've been looking for you. It's been _ages_ since we've last seen each other! Oh, and where are my manners? I'm Cho Chang – second year Ravenclaw and Daphne's second cousin, and this is my best friend, Marietta Edgecombe."

"It's nice to see you again, Cho, and nice to meet you, Miss Edgecombe," Daphne said. "These are our friends: Tracey Davis, Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger. You might have met Tracey, Neville, Hannah, Susan, Draco, Pansy and Luna before, but I don't think you'll have met Hermione. Miss Edgecombe, I think I've seen you before actually. Does your mother happen to work as a Floo Regulator, and is she Madam Edgecombe?"

"Yes, that's her," Marietta said. "You can call me Marietta, no need for the formalities here."

"Then you can call us by our first names," Tracey said. "I'm Tracey Davis, by the way." One by one, the rest followed Tracey's lead, introducing themselves to Cho and Marietta. Once they had all been introduced, and the food had appeared, they began to talk.

"So what brings you here, Cho?" Harry asked. "Are you looking to ask anything in particular?"

"Nope, just hoping to catch up," Cho said. "Oh yes, and it's going to be my birthday in a few weeks' time, and Professor Flitwick has granted me permission to have a small birthday celebration in an empty classroom, and you're all invited. It'll probably be in the evening, lasting from about 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., and will be on either a Friday or Saturday night so you don't get tired for classes the next day."

"Thanks, Cho," Daphne said. "Where will it be? I mean, there are about a few dozen empty classrooms, which one will it be held in?"

"One near Ravenclaw Tower," Cho said promptly. "Sorry guys, but I _do_ have to set things up, and I'm not going to carry things around half the school." She scraped the last few bites from her plate, before getting up and saying, "Well, I have a bit of homework to finish, so I suppose I'd better get going. Nice to see you, though."

.

* * *

.

The next morning, while Harry exercised and many other people slept, Molly Weasley was sitting in her kitchen, sipping a cup of tea as she read back copies of _The_ _Daily Prophet_ to find out what Dumbledore was talking about when he mentioned the betrothal between Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass. All he had said to do was to read the gossip column – not something she usually read, as usually all the people mentioned were high-society people that she knew almost nothing about, due to the fact that the Weasleys were not rich and important – so here she was, scanning copies starting from the first of August.

Currently, she had reached the twentieth of August, but there was still nothing very important. Quite a few mentions of how "the famous Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, is finally going to Hogwarts after ten long years of hiding!", but nothing about the Greengrasses nor a betrothal. But once she found the copy of the twenty-fourth of August and flipped to the gossip column, she almost exploded with rage.

 _THE HEIRS OF THE HOUSES OF POTTER AND GREENGRASS IN UNBREAKABLE BETROTHAL_

 _Today's top gossip-worthy news is of course, the betrothal ceremony between the famous Harrison "Harry" Potter, Heir Apparent to the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter, and Daphne Greengrass, Heiress Presumptive to the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass, which many high-society, pureblooded members of Magical Britain and of Light, Grey and Dark families were honoured to be invited to, both the ceremony and the grand celebration afterwards._

 _This betrothal ceremony took place in Merlin's Church, one of the most famous churches in Magical Britain, with all the seats filling up to hold three hundred guests at the betrothal, while the after-celebration took place in Greengrass Manor. The celebration lasted for hours and was filled with plenty of fun, laughter and dancing, as a celebration should be like, and many people came away afterwards feeling very satisfied, happy and full of good comments about both the ceremony and the celebration._

 _But why would the betrothal, let alone the betrothal ceremony that formally recognised the betrothal, even happen in the first place? According to Lord Cygnus and Lady Isabel Greengrass, this betrothal was not created in this generation, but by the great-grandfathers of Mister Potter and Miss Greengrass. It came about as a few generations ago, both the Houses of Potter and Greengrass were nearly wiped out in the male line, and the Lords of both Houses at that time decided that if either of the Houses didn't have a male Heir, the Heir Apparent and Heiress Apparent/Presumptive would be forced to marry and be bound in an unbreakable betrothal._

 _This, of course, applies to Mister Potter and Miss Greengrass, as it is well-known that Lady Greengrass is unable to bear any more children and Lord Greengrass only has two daughters: Miss Daphne Greengrass, the bride-to-be of Mister Potter, and Miss Astoria Greengrass, the younger of the two sisters. Mister Potter and Miss Greengrass could not be reached for comment, but Lord Greengrass was happy to give us a quick comment on his feelings about this betrothal._

 _"While many other fathers in my position would be happy that their daughter was bound to the famous Boy-Who-Lived, I would certainly have to take a while to think about it," Lord Greengrass stated. "My daughter and young Mister Potter seem very happy with each other, but it really is too early to tell. However, just like any other father, I would have this to say to Mister Potter: 'If you dare hurt my daughter in any way, I will be coming after you with my wand in my hand, fire in my eyes and revenge in my heart'."_

 _To conclude this article, this reporter would have one thing to state: Sorry, young witches of Magical Britain, Ireland and Scotland, it looks like that your dreams of grabbing the Boy-Who-Lived are just that – dreams, as he's apparently been taken even a few generations before he was even born._

"Argh!" Molly growled to herself. "This can't happen! Ginny _has_ to end up with Harry!" She then cast _Incendio_ at the fireplace, to make sure there was fire, before going over to the fireplace and tossing some Floo-powder from the pot on the mantlepiece in the flames. She called, "Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts!" before waiting for the connection to work and sticking her head into the flames.

Soon, she had been connected and was currently staring at Dumbledore, who was sitting behind his desk. "Ah, good morning, Molly," he said. "What brings you here?"

"Information," Molly said. "Has Severus managed to brew the potion yet?"

"Alas, no," Dumbledore said. "Molly, you took the Potions N.E.W.T., you should know how difficult it is to create a new potion completely. There's Arithmancy, Herbology, Potions _and_ sometimes a bit of Alchemy involved in making a new one. We must give Severus _time_. Was there anything else you wanted?"

"How you could have let Harry and Miss Greengrass formalise the betrothal?" Molly asked. "I thought you were his magical guardian, you should have been able to stop him."

"I _should_ have, Molly," Dumbledore said, "not I could have, no matter how much I wanted to. Unfortunately, Harry had run away by then, and as the Greengrasses are Neutral and out of my control, I could not reach young Harry. In fact, I believe that the Greengrasses may actually have taken Harry out of Britain for the last week."

"Any reports?" Molly demanded, and Dumbledore sighed inwardly.

"Molly, it is far too early for me to say anything like that," Dumbledore said tiredly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have paperwork to do." Before Molly could say anything, he quickly cut the connection, 'throwing' her back into the Burrow.

.

* * *

.

That afternoon, Sirius Black was, as usual, doing nothing in the Tonks' house. While their house was very nice and a huge step up from his cell in Azkaban, it was starting to feel slightly like his cell again. He had learnt, over the past few days, that he didn't like to be "trapped" in one place for too long, as it reminded him of his cell.

Over the past few days, he had quickly settled into a daily routine, as well as learning the Tonks'. Andromeda and Ted both usually had breakfast at about eight, before Flooing or Apparating to their respective places of work. They would usually return home for lunch at about noon, before leaving again at one o'clock, so this would be the only meal with the four of them. Dinner, which was just Andromeda, Ted and Sirius, would be at about six to seven, after Andromeda returned home.

'Dora's, however, was different as she was an Auror. Usually, she would get up at about eleven in the morning to noon, before having lunch. The next few hours were her "lazy" and "downtime", where she would do almost nothing. At a quarter to four, she would Floo into the Ministry to start her shift, which lasted from four to midnight. At midnight, she would return home, eat a quick snack and promptly collapse into bed.

Suddenly, a snowy-white owl swooped into one of the house's windows. Sirius, quickly looking around to see if there was anyone first, opened the window and picked the owl up. It had the Gringotts emblem on it, signifying to all that it was a Gringotts owl. Sirius quickly untied the letter, before unrolling it and reading:

 _Heir Apparent Sirius Black of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black–_

 _We have agreed that you may now come for a meeting. This letter is a Portkey, and the phrase to activate it is "May your gold flow". It will take you into my office, and we may then discuss the finances relating to yourself personally and the House of Black in general. This Portkey will take you directly to my office, so you do not need to trouble with finding someone to cast a glamour upon you (as you are an ex-prisoner that has been released in secret, I suppose you do not have a wand). I hope to see you._

 _–Blackstone, Account Manager for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black_

"Great," Sirius said to himself. He rummaged around the house until he found a quill, a pot of ink and parchment, before quickly writing a note to the Tonks, informing them where he was going to be. If he got back before any of the Tonks did, he would remove the note and simply tell them that he had gone to Gringotts. However, if he arrived back later, then at least they wouldn't panic when they couldn't find him. Sirius then touched the letter, before saying, "May your gold flow." He then felt like a hook, situated somewhere behind his navel, was pulling him to Gringotts. Within a few seconds, he was then standing in Blackstone's office.

"Ah, Heir Black," Blackstone said, grinning at him from behind the desk. "I've been waiting to meet you for a long time."

An hour later, Sirius had almost finished with the meeting. Since there seemed to be many things that only the Lord of the House of Black could do – the many Lords Black being paranoid that someone would do something they didn't want – then there didn't seem to be much he could do. He had taken out some money, borrowed a wand of his ancestor's – it had been left in a small vault filled with old wands of the Blacks' – and had caught up on some things that he needed to know.

"Thank you, Blackstone," Sirius said, rising. "I'll, of course, be coming back in a week's time or so, once I'm officially free."

"Good," Blackstone said, before handing Sirius another sheet of parchment. "This is a Portkey which will take you back to your house. I hope to see you soon." Sirius nodded, and the two bid each other goodbye before Sirius disappeared with the Portkey.

.

* * *

.

That night, as Harry and his nine friends sat down at Gryffindor table for dinner, they were accosted by Ron yet again, but this time it wasn't to annoy them. "Greengrass, Davis, Malfoy and Parkinson," Ron began as soon as he got there. There was a pause, and then he said in a rush, "I'mreallysorryforannoyingyouandcallingyouslimysnakes." With that, he then ran off quickly to the other end of the table and sat down with his best friend, Stephen.

Once he had departed, the twins joined the ten of them, who were all talking about Ron's attempt at an apology. "Hello, all," one began.

"We, as messengers from the Elder House of Weasley–," the second twin continued.

"–would like to formally apologize to all of you–," the first twin said.

"–especially Mister Malfoy, Miss Greengrass, Miss Davis and Miss Parkinson–," the second twin said.

"–for the rude behaviour of the second-youngest scion of the House of Weasley," the first twin finished. "And by the way, I'm George, if you can't tell us apart yet."

"Thank you," Draco said. "On behalf of myself and my betrothed, we accept the apology from the Elder House of Weasley."

"And on behalf of myself and my best friend, Heir Presumptive Greengrass, we too accept the apology from the Elder House of Weasley," Tracey said. "Now that the formalities and apologies are over, let's enjoy dinner."

.

* * *

Hey guys!

I'm sorry for not updating in so long _again_ (it's been exactly one month since my last update), but thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows! Tests are _finally_ over, especially the language ones (definitely _not_ a strength of mine) so I'm finally free! Also, the next chapter is going to be a "throwback" chapter (maybe about the beginning of Voldemort's life, since that's kinda when the "chain of events" that led to Harry becoming the Boy-Who-Lived started) I probably won't be posting until 2018, since Christmas is in a few days. A FEW DAYS! I can't believe that 2017 has gone by so quickly!).

I also want to thank you guys for supporting me as I wrote the first few chapters of my fanfic (hey, Christmas is a time for giving and thanks, right?), especially my friend in real life, ttdbzgumball, and a fellow fanfic author that I've never met in real life but is really nice and writes great stories, DarkSuspense. So... Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I hope to see you guys (reviews, messages, whatever) in 2018!

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 7,300


	11. A Day of Trials

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen – A Day of Trials**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon  
_

The next week, which was the second week of Hogwarts for Harry and his friends, went by without any major incidents. After his rushed apology on Sunday night – and Harry was being generous when he called it one – then Ron had gone out of his way to avoid Harry and his friends. Fred and George, along with their best friend Lee Jordan, were fast becoming close friends with the ten of them. Dumbledore was almost in hiding as he worked – and even accepted Harry's request to leave school for legal purposes, since Flitwick had already agreed – and even _Snape_ seemed oddly withdrawn like he was thinking about something very difficult.

Sunday soon arrived, and for once then Harry stopped his exercise routine to get ready for the trial. Cygnus and Isabel had promised that they would be ready and waiting for him in the Great Hall at eight a.m. sharp, as they were heading to the trial as well. "So _many_ people seem to be going to the trial," Harry complained to Daphne as they waited in the Great Hall. "Cygnus and Isabel are going, Dumbledore's probably going as he's Chief Warlock, Flitwick and McGonagall say they're coming as well as they've figured out why I need to go, Aunt Amelia's definitely going to be there with the rest of the Wizengamot and there'll be all those reporters and people who have nothing better to do."

"Well, they're always there," Daphne said sensibly. "Plus, isn't it better if more people come? That way, more people can hear firsthand about how your godfather is innocent. The word will spread much faster that way than waiting for the _Daily Prophet_ to come the next morning when they finally report it."

"I suppose so," Harry said. "Anyway, do I look 'sharp' enough for the trial?" He was wearing formal black robes cut in the same style as the plum-coloured Wizengamot robes, but without the elaborate silver "W" that signified those who wore them as members of the Wizengamot. He had attempted to brush his hair and make it lie down flat, but had given up in the end. Daphne looked at him, before pulling a brush and a bottle of water out of her bag and handing them to him.

"Here," she said. "Wet the brush and run it through your hair. You should have come to me earlier, then I could have lent you some of my shampoo to make your hair lie flat."

Harry did as she instructed, before handing the bottle of water and the brush back to Daphne. "Why do you even keep this stuff in your bag anyway?" he asked.

"Just because you don't think they're important, doesn't mean that we girls don't think so either," Daphne said, putting them back in her bag. "The bottle of water is to stay hydrated, which helps your skin, and the brush is in case my hair goes all frizzy from the magic in the air. We also keep other essentials for girls in our bag besides books."

Harry nodded, and they waited in silence for a few moments. Cygnus and Isabel came up to them, wearing robes like Harry's, but in a different colour. Daphne immediately got up from where they were sitting, before throwing herself on them. "Oof! Daphne, you've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you," Cygnus said, before turning to Harry. "Harry, are you ready to go yet? There'll be quite a lot of people coming, so it's better if we go early."

"Yep, I'm ready," Harry said. "How are we getting there? Floo or Apparation?"

"Apparation," Isabel replied, as Daphne hugged her as well. "The Floos will be full of people." She hugged Daphne back, before the three headed to the trial started to leave.

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* * *

.

They arrived a few minutes later, after Apparating into the Ministry atrium, in the Wizengamot chamber. Quite a few of the Wizengamot members were there, including Dumbledore; a large group of reporters from various publications were jostling for a good seat in the area marked and saved for reporters; a large group of people were there for no apparent reason and of course, there was the very small minority of people who knew what would happen today, including Harry.

"The meeting starts at eight-fifteen," Cygnus told Harry, "so the trials will probably start at about eight-thirty, depending on how long it takes for them to get ready. Isabel's got a copy of this week's _Witch Weekly_ if you think you'll get bored, or Isabel and I can point out all the different people and tell you all the gossip like we do with Daphne."

"You are an evil Lord and Lady, you know," Harry said to Cygnus and Isabel. "But alright, so gossip away."

"Well," Isabel began, "can you see that man with the grey hair with the Wizengamot robes, sitting in the first row? Well, that's Lord Ogden. His family – actually, usually just his second son and his wife – runs their family business, Ogden's Old Firewhiskey. He's also got five grandchildren – two granddaughters and three grandsons – and his youngest granddaughter is called Charlotte Ogden and is unmarried, even though she's already about twenty-three. It's also _very_ well known that the Minister's in love with her."

"But that's not just the interesting part," Cygnus said. "The Minister's actually already married, and since he isn't the Lord of two Houses, polygamy is forbidden to him. So he's just in love with her, and wants to divorce his wife, even though that hasn't occured in quite a while. So _at least_ once every year, he proposes that anybody in Wizarding Britain should be allowed to marry twice if they want to, or at least be allowed to divorce without a great fuss. He's been asking that for... six years?"

"Yes, I think six years," Isabel said, thoughtfully. "But it's also well-known that Charlotte Ogden is in love with another man, who she's currently dating, and hoping to marry soon. She's already old for an unmarried witch – most marry within a couple years of graduating – but since Lord Ogden's not one of those Lords to push the daughters of their House into marriage, she's not married yet. Usually a witch of her age in Wizarding Britain would already have had at least two children, or three if there were twins."

"What about my parents?" Harry asked. "I don't know much about them, since there aren't that many people who I have much contact to _and_ who knew them very well."

"Your parents had you at nineteen," Cygnus said, "and before they went into hiding, they had decided to try for another. In fact–" Cygnus lowered his voice, "your mother was apparently a few months pregnant when she died. This information isn't very well known, just to a select few – your parents' friends, which included us, and the Healers that examined her when she believed she became pregnant with her second child."

"Really?" Harry asked in wonder, looking just like a little boy. "I could have had a sibling?" He looked like he was about to cry for a moment, before he went back to how he was like before. "When's the meeting going to start? I think everybody's here." Just as he finished speaking, Dumbledore rose up from the seat he occupied as Chief Warlock.

"Welcome, everybody, to today's meeting of the Wizengamot," Dumbledore said. "Now, according to what I have in front of me, a schedule of what is planned for today, I see we first have greetings, then there is half-an-hour that is marked 'Trials'. After these trials, which–" He frowned at this. "–for some reason, nobody has informed me about, there is a discussion about Lord Bulstrode, who wishes to have his house be elevated to Noble and Most Ancient, instead of Noble and Ancient. There will then be a break. So I greet Lord Abbott, Lord Avery, Lord Bogden, Lord Bulstrode..." He went on and on, greeting each Lord or Proxy individually.

After the greeting, Madam Bones – as he was told to call her in the Wizengamot chamber – stood up. "As Chief Warlock Dumbledore has stated, this is the half-an-hour that is for two different trials," she said as she walked to the center of the chamber, before telling an Auror with bright-pink hair, "Bring out the first prisoner, please." The Auror nodded and complied, coming back in a minute or so with a gaunt man wearing robes, which were shabby from the prisoner wearing it for ten years straight.

As soon as everyone caught sight of him, they weren't sure who he was, but Madam Bones soon cleared that up for them. "This is Heir Apparent Sirius Orion Black the Third of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," she announced. Before she had even finished saying his name, the chamber was in an uproar. Madam Bones immediately fired off a cannon blast noise with her wand, before casting a _Sonorous_ on herself and bellowing, "Be silent, or I will have you removed, unable to return for the day!"

Immediately, everyone quietened down, not wanting to miss this trial, so it wasn't long before Madam Bones canceled the _Sonorous_ and could proceed. "Good," she said. "Now, as I was saying, this is Heir Apparent Sirius Orion Black. According to Ministry records, he was sent to Azkaban for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles, along with betraying the late Lord James and Lady Lily Potter. But this man has never had a trial, but was summarily sent to Azkaban. I have looked in the Wizengamot court records, which as you may know, cannot be altered and is updated by magic, as well as in the Ministry court records and have come up with only the supposedly commited crime."

Madam Bones paused, before continuing, "So therefore, there is only one thing to assume: that he has never had a trial at all. As soon as I discovered that, I hastened to arrange a trial for him for this Wizengamot meeting, as the act of keeping a man in Azkaban without a trial. So without further ado, let us begin with the trial of Sirius Black, who has waited far too long for a trial." By now, Sirius had been placed in the chair for the prisoner, with the chains draped loosely over him.

But before Madam Bones did anything else, she flicked her wand and parchment appeared on the desks of everyone in the Wizengamot. "This is the interrogation of Sirius Black, who I confirm was under Veritaserum at the time," she said. "But if you still do not believe it, this trial is to prove that this 'prisoner' sitting here is innocent." She turned to Sirius, before asking, "Are you willing to undergo trial by Veritaserum, which will be administered to you in three drops?"

"Yes, I am willing to undergo trial by Veritaserum, Madam Bones," Sirius said, and although he had spent a decade in Azkaban, he was obviously quite healthy.

Madam Bones then nodded to an Auror with dark skin standing at the side, who handed her a vial of Veritaserum. "I confirm that this vial brought to me by Senior Primary Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt is Veritaserum Vial No. 3831, and the seal has been unopened and it has therefore not been tampered with," she said, before going over to Sirius, who tilted his head back and stuck out his tongue. Madam Bones then administered three drops, and Sirius smacked his lips before his eyes began to glaze over. "I confirm that I have administered three drops to the prisoner, which has taken effect," Madam Bones said, before turning to Sirius, "What is your name and date of birth?"

"I am Heir Apparent Sirius Orion Black the Third," Sirius said. "I was born on the third of November, 1959, to Orion Arcturus and Walburga Irma Black."

"A yes-or-no question next," Madam Bones said. "Did you betray the late Lord and Lady Potter by revealing their house which was under a Fidelius Charm to the Dark Lord?"

"No," Sirius said, and it was all that it took to send the chamber back into an uproar.

"Be silent, or I will have everybody but those involved removed from the chamber!" Madam Bones bellowed, and yet again, the room quietened down quickly.

"Were you the Secret Keeper on the night of the 31st of October, 1981?"

"No, that was Peter Pettigrew," Sirius said.

"Why was Peter Pettigrew the Secret Keeper instead of you, when everybody knew you were the late Lord Potter's best and most trusted friend?"

"I thought it was too obvious," Sirius said. "I convinced James and Lily to change Secret Keepers a week before Halloween, on the 24th of October, 1981, so Voldemort would go after me instead of Peter. We didn't know that Peter was a Death Eater at that time, which I only found out later after the Potters had died."

"Have you ever been a Death Eater, or wished you could become one? And why did you kill Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles?"

"No for the first question," Sirius answered. "And to answer your second question, I didn't kill any of those thirteen people. After the Potters died, I went to find and confront Peter. I eventually found and cornered him on a Muggle street in London, where he was fake-sobbing. He yelled, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' for all to hear, not caring about the Muggles at all, before blasting the street apart with his wand behind his back. In the confusion, he cut off his middle finger and transformed into a rat."

"A rat? Is Peter Pettigrew an unregistered Animagus? In that case, do you know where he might be?"

"Yes to both questions," Sirius said. "He's probably in his Animagus form at this moment, with a magical family so he could listen for news and be comfortable."

"Final question. Do you know who cast the Fidelius Charm?" Madam Bones asked. "Was it Lily Potter, who was well known for being a Charms prodigy?"

"No," Sirius said. "It was Albus Dumbledore, who for some reason, didn't see fit to point out that it was Peter Pettigrew who betrayed them as the Secret Keeper to the Potters, instead of me." Madam Bones saw that Dumbledore had turned pale, while everybody was staring at him – a clear sign of his guilt.

"I have no more questions for him, so if anybody is still in doubt of this man's clear innocence, speak up now," Madam Bones asked, turning to the Wizengamot. Nobody spoke for a few seconds before Madam Bones went on. "Very well, Chief Warlock Dumbledore. I will give him the antidote, and then may we vote?"

Dumbledore nodded, and said, "You all know the procedure, fellow members of the Wizengamot. If you believe Heir Apparent Sirius Black should be set free–"

He was interrupted by Madam Bones, who had been whispering with Sirius as the antidote had taken effect. "Excuse me, Albus," she said. "Heir Apparent Black would like to request the sum of one million Galleons be paid to him, as recompensation for the ten years he has unjustly spent in Azkaban, to make up for the time lost."

Dumbledore sighed, before saying, "Very well then. I agree to the terms, if he is set free." He paused, before continuing with his earlier statement, "If you believe Heir Apparent Black should be set free, raise your lit wand when I ask. If you do not agree, raise your lit wand when I ask. All those in favour for granting one million Galleons to Heir Apparent Black and setting him free without any charges of any wrongdoing, raise your lit wand."

Harry could see, without counting, that he'd be set free. Most of the chamber had lit their wands, while only a few hadn't, and when Dumbledore asked again then Harry was proved correct. "Sirius Orion Black, based on the count and evidence in your favour, this court has dismissed all charges against you and exonerated you of any wrongdoing or murder. One million Galleons will be transferred to your family vault from the Ministry vault within the month."

Sirius was almost too jittery for the chains to be unwrapped, but the moment he was free, he ran as fast as he could up to where Cygnus and Isabel were sitting with Harry. "Hello, Harry," he said quietly to him. "Madam Bones has told me that it was you who started this process that led to where we're standing today, both of us free, and I'll always be grateful for that. I know that we've got ten years of time to make up for, and I'm truly sorry that I let you down when you needed me most."

"It's fine, as I've heard that grief can do strange things to a person's mind, making them do illogical things," Harry said, as Cygnus quietly put up a Silencing Charm around the two of them. "And yes, we _have_ got quite a lot to catch up on. It'll take a while before we're done and can move on, but we'll get there." Sirius nodded, almost overcome with emotion, before the two hugged each other tightly, almost as if they would never let go.

.

* * *

.

The next trial was the trial of Harry's aunt and uncle, and to his surprise, Aunt Marge was there too. While she wasn't his relative by blood, he had always been forced to call her "Aunt", since she was Vernon's sister. But it wasn't a surprise that Dudley wasn't there, as he was probably at Smeltings – a school that Uncle Vernon had gone to previously, and bragged about to everyone that would listen that was where Dudley was going to go. Another thing that Harry wasn't surprised about was that his uncle and Aunt Marge were struggling with the Aurors to escape, while his aunt simply looked haggard and defeated, like she had already accepted her fate.

As soon as they entered, Dumbledore turned to face Madam Bones and asked, "Who do we sit in judgement for this time? I don't recognise these three as magical folk."

"You are correct," Madam Bones said. "The thin woman is Harrison Potter's aunt, the man is her husband, and the... shall we say, _larger_ woman is the husband's elder sister. All three of them are Muggles, which is why you don't recognise them as magical folk. Of course, according to Harrison Potter's memories from when you sent Rubeus Hagrid to pick him up from the remains of the Potter's house in Godric's Hollow, you would have already met them." She smiled as Dumbledore turned pale. "The name of the man is Vernon Dursley, the name of the thin woman is Petunia Dursley, neé Evans, and the name of the larger woman is Marjorie Dursley."

"What are the charges this time, that has brought three Muggles to the Wizengamot?" Dumbledore asked.

"For Vernon and Petunia Dursley, the charges are: ten counts of child abuse psychologically, ten counts of child endangerment, ten counts of failing to protect a child from physical abuse and attempting to end the line of a Noble and Most Ancient House by abusing the Heir Apparent and only Heir psychologically and physically, as their son has abused this child physically but as he is underage, we will hold his parents account for it instead. For Marjorie Dursley, the charges are: seven counts of child abuse physically and attempting to end the line of a Noble and Most Ancient House by abusing the Heir Apparent and only Heir psychologically and physically."

Harry could see the Dicta-Quill of the court stenographer writing frantically to keep up with the charges.

"Vernon, Petunia and Marjorie Dursley, how do you plead to the charges that have been read?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not guilty," all three of them repeated, one after the other, once the Silencing Charms that they had been placed under had been taken off.

"Your plea of not guilty has been entered," Dumbledore said, before nodding at Madam Bones. "You may now present your case."

Afterwards, a selection of memories played – Harry's memories, along with a few Aurors who had obviously gone to investigate the house after arresting them. There were memories of Dudley's room, compared with Harry's cupboard; Harry-Hunting "games"; Harry's endless chores compared with Dudley's relaxed lifestyle and so on. By the end of it, several people looked queasy. "Now I present the evidence for the case of Marjorie Dursley," Madam Bones said. More memories were played, but this time of each of Marge's visits to the Dursleys and Harry: letting Ripper, her prize bulldog, bite him and chase him up a tree until past midnight; whacking him on the shins and so on.

"Very well," Dumbledore said once Madam Bones signaled she had finished. "As there is no more evidence, and as they are Muggles and Veritaserum would not work on them, I will now call for the vote. Raise your lit wand if you think that the three of them are guilty of those crimes, and should be–"

"Excuse me, Chief Warlock Dumbledore," Madam Bones said. "But according to Harrison Potter's wishes, he wants them to receive justice in the Muggle world, with irrefutable evidence of their crimes of child abuse, as they belong to the Muggle world, even if they have ties to the wizarding world, as well as knowledge."

"Very well, then," Dumbledore said once he saw most members of the Wizengamot were nodding, including those of the Dark Houses. "Raise your lit wand if you believe that the three should be handed over to the Muggle – police? – with evidence of their crimes." It was then a unanimous decision to do so.

"Even though I need not call for this, raise your lit wands if you think they should be set free," Dumbledore said with a chuckle. No wands were raised, as all members agreed they were guilty. He then turned to the three Muggles. "We, the Wizengamot, having sat in judgement, now find you three all guilty. As Harrison Potter was the only one harmed by the actions or inactions of yourselves, we will grant his request and you will be turned over to the Muggle police and your government. Do not try to escape, or this time you will not be so lucky and will receive punishment in the wizarding world."

Vernon, Petunia and Marge all nodded, clearly terrified. "Then this case is closed, and we may move on to other business," Dumbledore said.

.

* * *

.

That afternoon, as soon as Harry returned back to Hogwarts through Professor Flitwick's Floo, he was greeted with his friends and his betrothed waiting for him outside his office. Well, more like they were sitting outside the office, either reading, studying or talking. Hermione was, of course, the one that was busy studying, as she hoped to get ahead of where they currently were in class. "So, did the trials go as they should have gone?" Daphne asked, and the group stood up. "Is your godfather free yet?"

"Yes, Sirius is free now, if rather gaunt and not very healthy," Harry said. "Cygnus and Isabel have taken him to his cousin Andromeda Tonks, who's a very good Healer, at St. Mungo's. That's why they sent me through the Floo instead of Apparating me to Hogsmeade and coming up with me. So what are your plans for this afternoon."

"Well," Daphne said, "since it's already about three o'clock, lunch is over already and dinner hasn't begun yet, so we can't eat, so that's definitely out."

Then, she saw Susan, who was grinning. "Who says we can't, Daph? We can always call a house-elf, and ask them to show us to the kitchens."

Daphne sighed at that, rolling her eyes. "Fine then, let's eat. House-elf!" With a _Crack!_ , a house-elf appeared, wearing a tea towel bearing the Hogwarts crest.

"You called for Blizzard, Miss?" The house-elf, Blizzard, squeaked and bowed to Daphne. "What would Miss like Blizzard to do?"

"Blizzard, I would like you to show us–" Daphne pointed at the group and herself "–to the Hogwarts kitchens, as we feel slightly peckish."

With that, Blizzard started to bounce up and down, before saying rather excitedly, "Yes Miss! We house-elves is liking to cook for people! We is having many treats for you! Please follow me, Miss." With that, Blizzard started scurrying down the hallways. Eventually, they reached a corridor that was was located on the basement level of Hogwarts. It could be accessed via the Entrance Hall, through the door on the left-hand side of the Marble Staircase, which was the exact way that Blizzard had shown them. This corridor had several barrels piled in a nook on the right-hand side – Susan told them that this was the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common Room – and several portraits.

"This be the entrance, Masters and Misses," Blizzard squeaked, leading them over to a portrait of a gigantic fruit bowl. "If you be wanting to go to kitchens, you must tickle the green pear." He did so, and the green pear squirmed and laughed, before transforming into a green door-knob. The elf twisted it, revealing a gigantic, high-ceilinged room with five tables placed in the exact same position as the Hogwarts house tables directly above the kitchens, which were magically linked to the house tables. "This be the Hogwarts kitchens, Masters and Misses." He bowed low again, before saying, "What would you like to eat?"

"We'll call for you when we've decided," Daphne ordered. "You may leave us now, Blizzard."

"Yes, Miss," Blizzard squeaked, before rushing over to the sinks to assist the house-elves with whatever they were washing, and the ten friends sat down at the Gryffindor table – at least, the table that was directly under and linked to the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, which was currently devoid of any food, lunch having been over hours ago. The friends then asked each other what they wanted, so they could all make sure there were no double orders.

A few minutes after they had ordered, the food that the ten of them had requested appeared in front of them. There were many things, ranging from a salad for those who wanted to eat healthy foods to balance out the unhealthy junk foods, to dessert in several different flavours, to drinks of Butterbeer, pumpkin juice and water. Just as they were really getting started on their snack, five third-year students walked in: three boys and two girls. The three boys were the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan, who they knew already, while the two girls were unknown to the ten friends at the kitchen version of the Gryffindor table.

"Hello," Lee greeted the ten of them. "I didn't know you knew where the kitchens were as well and came down here for snacks!"

Harry smiled. "We didn't, but a house-elf named Blizzard showed us," he said. "This is our first time, so come and join us for a snack if you want."

"That'd be fantastic," George said, leading his four friends towards the table. "House-elves, we're feeling slightly peckish, so could we possibly–" Before he had even finished saying anything, several house-elves were already scurrying their way, bearing trays laden down with cakes and surprisingly, some healthier foods. "Oh yes, and I don't think any of you have met these two _wonderful_ girls, who have kindly agreed to come down to the kitchens with us."

One of the girls, a physically fit, dark-skinned girl with brown eyes and long, braided black hair, immediately said, "Don't be ridiculous, Lee. We wanted some food, too. Oliver's been working us hard even though it's only been two weeks into the school year so far. He really is crazy about Quidditch."

"With a capital 'C'," the twins said in unison.

"What does _that_ mean in your twin speak?" Neville asked.

"First of all, we're triplets," Fred said. "Lee's our dreadlocked triplet, he's even got Dad's eyes."

"And second of all, in triplet-speak, it means that Oliver's really crazy about Quidditch to the point where he's got a slight problem with obsession," George said. "Obsessive Quidditch Disorder, I'd say." Then he turned to the dark-skinned girl and said, "So guys and girls, this is Angelina Johnson, Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

"And this is Alicia Spinnet, other Chaser of the Gryffindor Quidditch team," the second twin said. Alicia was a tanned girl, also physically fit, with light brown hair and similarly-coloured eyes, and she greeted them with a smile on her face. The ten first-years waved hello to her, as their mouths were stuffed too full with delicious foods. Once the five third-year students had finished eating from the selection of foods that the house-elves had brought for them, they left – with Angelina muttering to Alicia about an essay she still had to do – leaving the first-years by themselves.

Once they were gone, and Hermione had swallowed her last bite of food, she sat up and asked, "So what are house-elves, and can someone explain to me about them?"

.

* * *

Hey guys!

Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites! And by the way, did you know that I published 2 chapters of _A Treasury of Harry Potter Fanfictions_ over the time since I last published the previous chapter of this fanfic? One of them's a Christmas one, so read if you're interested, while the other one's just a re-write of the beginning of Voldemort. I also know I said this was going to be a "throwback" chapter, but it was really hard to write one, so I decided to just continue this story.

So anyway, if any of you guys have Instagram, look for harry. potter. mediafessions! I post Harry Potter snapchats and confessions, and I'm also going to do things like fake Instagram messages and text messages soon. (I have to put in the spaces because won't let me write it without the spaces or with the "at" that shows it's an account and save it.) Also, if anyone's also a _Pretty Little Liars_ fan, check out DarkSuspense's _Two Sides of Life_ – it's a time travel PLL fanfiction and _really_ good!

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 5,300


	12. House-Elves: Contented or Cheerless?

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen – House-Elves: Contented or Cheerless?**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

"I can't _believe_ you could be so barbaric as to condone slavery!" Hermione screeched, hair wildly flying. "How could you treat them like this? They haven't _done_ anything to harm you, why would you make them slaves? I thought that..." As she went on with her rant, the other nine of them sat back and waited for her to finish. While they were still in the kitchens and the topic was house-elves, the house-elves were oblivious to what Hermione was saying due to Daphne having put up a shield around the ten of them.

"I've had to learn how, due to Astoria taking my stuff," Daphne said, smiling ruefully when asked. "Originally I could only create a weak shield that could barely last a few minutes, but now I can keep them for up to about twenty minutes to half an hour, so hopefully she'll stop before then as I have to rest for a while before creating another." And luckily, after fifteen minutes, Hermione had run out of breath. Her cheeks were now red, her hair a mess, but her eyes were still angrily flashing.

"Are you done?" Neville enquired after a few minutes had passed without her saying anything, and Daphne had put down her shield.

"No!" Hermione said angrily. "How _could_ you though? Do any of you have _any_ idea how barbaric it is? Do you..." She trailed of as Harry put up a hand to stop her.

"Hermione," Harry began, "we all know your feelings on the subject. To put you straight, house-elves are _not_ slaves. The bond between house-elves and wizarding society has existed for millennia, and will probably exist for millennia more. The relationship between the two species is symbiotic and mutualism." Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped by Harry. "No, Hermione. I will not debate this with you any further, and if you want to find out more, you should go to the library."

Hermione then closed her mouth, before suddenly opening it again and declaring, "Fine, if none of you will help me with the house-elves, I'll do it myself then!" And with that, she stormed from the kitchens in a huff, and the nine friends that remained from their group could see that she was about to do something drastic.

.

* * *

.

Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic for Wizarding Britain, was currently not having a good day. He had such high hopes for this day, so it was twice as disappointing when his day turned out completely the opposite. The reason he had such high hopes in the first place were that this was the first Wizengamot meeting since Harry Potter had started at Hogwarts, and he wanted an update on how the boy was getting on, even though he had already met young Harry at the betrothal party for Harry and Heiress Greengrass – Daisy? Daphne? Dawn? – who he still couldn't remember the first name of, no matter how many times he had been introduced to her.

And now, instead of an update, he was now one of the few people who was being pestered by reporters about Sirius Black's trial, demanding to know all sorts of answers. Madam Bones – of whom he was terrified, although he would never admit it – was handling the reporters around her quite well; Dumbledore was employing the sly way in which he answered questions he didn't want to give answers to – by only saying as much as he wanted to, and using misdirection and misleading sentences.

After an hour of torturous questions, he had been able to slip away to his office claiming he had work to do. He had then Flooed to a restaurant, the Holly League, for lunch, as the Holly League was well-known for being secluded and private. Unfortunately, he had then bumped into his Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge. While he wouldn't say it out loud, he had to admit to himself that the woman was one of the annoying people he had ever known in his life, and he had met quite a few politicians.

"Cornelius!" Dolores simpered, waddling towards him and holding out a hand. "How nice it is to see you! The reporters didn't give you any grief, I hope?"

Fudge forced a smile onto his face as she came closer, before shaking her hand and ignoring the disappointed look on her face when he didn't kiss her hand. "Only about an hour of questions. But that's all in the game of being a politician and Minister to boot, I suppose, so I'm willing to endure it."

"Oh Cornelius, you are so brave!" Dolores simpered, before pulling him towards a table, where an elderly witch sat stiffly. "And _do_ come and join my mother and I for lunch."

Inwardly, Fudge shuddered, but outwardly all he said was, "I'm afraid that I'll have to decline, Dolores. I have actually arranged a meeting with someone else who lives nearby, and only arrived here so I could escape from the reporters without leading them to my acquaintance's home."

Dolores looked disappointed, but let him go. "Alright, I'll see you later at the Ministry then." And with that, she skipped away, adding another problem onto Cornelius' list.

.

* * *

.

That afternoon, as Harry sat in the kitchens with Daphne – the rest of the friends had said they had homework that they needed to do – then they were chatting about this and that when a house-elf appeared next to them with a snowy-white owl on its arm. It was a Gringotts owl, as Harry could tell, and a package and a letter were tied on its right leg. "Master," the house-elf squeaked, bowing deeply, "this owl be looking for you outside kitchen window."

"Thank you," Harry said. The house-elf then "deposited" the owl on the table, before returning to its work. As dinner was coming up, they obviously had plenty of work to do, cooking for a few hundred witches and wizards – some of whom, like Ronald Weasley, ate almost double of what an average person would. Harry reached for the owl, relieving it of its package and letter. The owl then zoomed off to the house-elves, most likely looking for refreshments as well as possibly a place to rest.

"What is that?" Daphne asked.

"It must be my copy of the Potter Holdings," Harry said. When he opened the package, he was proved correct, as it held a large file with "Potter Holdings – Copy" stamped in gold. The sign of Gringotts was stamped in silver below the title. It was quite heavy, and as he picked it up then a black leather-bound notebook fell out. "What's this?"

"Maybe it's something to do with your holdings," Daphne suggested. "Why don't you open it?" Harry agreed, and opened it to find a name on the front: LILY J. EVANS-POTTER. He flipped to the next page, which read: _This is the journal of Lily J. Evans. If found, please return to Professor M. McGonagall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts_ _. This diary is Charmed so only those with Evans blood can read it. In the case of my death, this Charm will be gone_.

"It's my mother's journal," Harry said in awe. "Stoneclaw must have found it somewhere in Gringotts, and decided to give it to me." He set it and the file of the Potter Holdings aside, reaching for the letter. The letter was from Stoneclaw, and read:

 _Dear Mister Potter,_

 _I have sent you a copy of the Potter holdings. Only those with Potter blood or those that are married or betrothed to Potters can read it, so no worries about someone reading it. I have also found your mother's journal. I have good reason to believe this is only one of a few journals of your parents' – if I remember correctly, your parents always carried their journals around with them, even to meetings at Gringotts – so if I find any more of them, I will of course forward them to you._

 _May your gold flow and your enemies perish,  
Stoneclaw  
_

"Yep, he confirmed that this is my mother's journal," Harry said. "He also said, 'I have good reason to believe this is only one of a few journals of your parents',' which means that this isn't the only journal. Maybe this is just my mother's journal from when she was at Hogwarts, that must be why she wrote, 'If found, please return to Professor M. McGonagall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' instead of 'If found, please return to myself at Potter Cottage, Godric's Hollow'."

"I suppose," Daphne said. "But if that's her only Hogwarts journal, I can't say she was much of a writer. Seven years and she just finishes one notebook."

"Mmm, from what I've heard she was more of the studying and reading type than the writing type," Harry said, opening the journal once again. "But I bet that my father was even less of a writer than my mother. From what I hear, he was more focused on pranking and due to his eidetic memory, he could pass his exams with straight O's so he wasn't worried about them at all. He also never seemed the type to read much to Cygnus and Isabel. Anyway, do you want to read the journal with me?"

"Me?" Daphne said, mouth dropping open. "But... it's your _mother's journal_."

"And?" Harry said, shrugging. "I'm sure she'd be willing to let you, my betrothed, if she could tell us from Heaven or Elysium, or wherever she is in the afterlife."

"I'm sure we could do a little research on that if you wanted to know," Daphne said. "There must be books on time in Potter Manor or Greengrass Manor. But I'd be very happy to read the late Lady Potter, my future mother-in-law's, journal with you." Harry smiled in return, shifting his chair closer before opening the journal so they could begin.

.

* * *

.

While Harry and Daphne were reading, Sirius Black was lying in St. Mungo's. He was currently in Ward 14, on the first floor, which was for patients with creature-induced injuries. As Dementors were classified as "creatures" and he had certainly been affected in Azkaban, he had been put on the first floor. Sirius was currently being treated by Andromeda and two other Healers, Charlotte and Grace. Charlotte had blond hair and blue eyes, while Grace had light brown hair and blue eyes.

"Well, what problems are there?" Sirius asked impatiently after the three Healers had waved their wands over him for a while, and a sheet of parchment which a quill was writing on by itself grew longer and longer. The parchment and quill were floating in mid-air by themselves, and all Sirius could see was the black writing of the quill.

"Surprisingly, less than I thought there'd be for someone who's spent a decade in Azkaban like you," Charlotte answered, waving her wand again and silently casting a spell. "The biggest problem seems to be malnutrition. The Azkaban fare isn't especially healthy or good for anyone, though, so that's to be expected." After several more minutes of wand-waving, the Healers finally stopped and silently read through the list on the parchment.

Once they had finished, Grace said, "Well, just to warn you, you'll be on a strict potions regime for a while. I'll go and get the potions with Charlotte, and Andromeda here can start writing up your instructions." The other two Healers nodded, and Charlotte and Grace went out of the room, leaving Andromeda and Sirius.

Once they were gone, Andromeda sat down on the side of Sirius' bed, before saying, "Okay, Sirius, we need to talk. They don't know about you being free before you're supposed to, so you'd better act like you don't know anything about us yet. Got that?" Sirius nodded, which satisfied Andromeda apparently, as she moved off to write at the table. It was situated against a wall in the room, so all Sirius could see was her back as she wrote.

After a few minutes, Charlotte and Grace re-entered the room, Charlotte pushing a trolley filled with potion racks filled with potions and Grace pushing one filled with all manner of things. "Dromeda, are you done with the instructions?" Charlotte asked as she and Grace pushed the trollies so they were at the side of Sirius' bed. Grace then took a fold-up table from the trolley she was pushing, and placed it so that it would be over Sirius' lap if Sirius sat up.

"Wait a moment," Andromeda said absently, writing a few more words before finished, declaring, "I'm done!" She then got up and, clutching the parchment, went over to where Charlotte and Grace were standing. They then conferred in low voices and took turns reading and editing the parchment. After a few minutes, they were apparently done.

"Okay, Sirius," Grace said, coming over to him. She picked up a potions rack, placing it on the fold-up table, before sitting down on the side of his bed. "So these are the potions you'll be required to take thrice every day – morning, afternoon and night. This pale green potion is for nutrition, this dark pink one is a Diet Enhancer, this dark green potion is a Cell-Repairing potion, this pale pink one is a Muscle-Repairing, this red one is a Growth Enhancer and the silver one is for Dementor exposure."

Grace then indicated the rest of the trolley. "These are mainly just repeats of these potions, as we don't have potion bottles that can automatically refill themselves. But these pale, almost white, potions are Enhancers, which means they enhance the potions you took. This purple potion is Dreamless Sleep, which was requested for you. This blue potion is an appetite simulator. And finally, this clear potion is to make sure that potions don't react with each other."

"Great," Sirius said. "So what was 'Dromeda writing then, if you've just told me everything?"

"The order which you must take the potions," Charlotte said. "Potions can react badly with each other, as Grace has already said. You have to take a sip of the clear potion in between potions, but you must still take them in this order which 'Dromeda has written down for you. There's also reminders so you drink the potions at the correct time, such as most of the potions thrice a day, Enhancer, Appetite Simulator and Dreamless Sleep once a day and 'Non-Reacter', the clear potion, between potions."

"It sounds much more complicated than what I learned in my N.E.W.T. Potions class, and sounds like so much more studying," Sirius said. "I now know why I never wanted to become a Healer, and barely even _looked_ at the pamphlet for Healer apprenticeships that McGonagall gave me when it came to possible career choices in my fifth year."

"Sirius!" Andromeda said, swatting at his head with the parchment she was holding. "A Healer is a very important job, and one that you should have some respect for. While a community of Healers could survive without any Aurors, a community of Aurors can't survive without any Healers."

Sirius sighed. "Yes, 'Dromeda, I know," he said. "Now, what potions do I have to take first?" With that, Andromeda passed over the parchment.

.

* * *

.

That evening, the nine friends – as Hermione had vanished for the day and still hadn't returned, or at least they couldn't find her – sat down at the Gryffindor table, hoping to catch Hermione and try again to change her mind about the house-elves. Instead, they were greeted with a smiling Hermione, clutching a metal box that rattled when she shook it. On the lid of the box there were four letters written: S.P.E.W., along with a moving, wizarding photograph of a house-elf.

"Hello," she said cheerfully. "How are you? I've been quite busy this afternoon, making all these badges."

"Badges?" Neville asked. "What badges?"

"For S.P.E.W., of course!" Hermione said. "S.P.E.W. stands for 'Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare'. I originally wanted to put 'Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status', but it wouldn't fit, so that's the heading of our manifesto instead." She dug around in her bag, ignoring all their shocked expressions, before producing a piece of parchment that was covered with her handwriting.

Draco sighed. "Hermione–"

"Our short-term aims are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented," Hermione went on. "You'll all be joining, won't you? We'll have ten members if you all join. It's two Sickles for a badge, I think that'll cover costs if we get enough people to join." She stared expectantly at them.

It was Harry's turn to sigh. "Hermione, we are _not_ joining this club of yours to basically make house-elves free," he said. "Have you actually bothered reading about the house-elves' and the wizards' relationship in the library? Have you read about how we are dependent on each other?"

"But that's all false!" Hermione cried. "House-elves are all brainwashed by wizards!"

At that, most people's jaws dropped and they faced Hermione, whose cheeks flushed bright red. After a few seconds of silence, a Ravenclaw that Harry knew to be Albert Nightstar, a seventh-year pureblood, spoke up. "Miss, I am afraid that you are mistaken. House-elves are not 'brainwashed' by wizards, and the information Mister Potter offered you is true. Heads wiser and older than yours or mine – although that may be hard to believe–" A laugh rang around the Hall "–have studied the relationship between house-elves and wizards and have found that yes, we truly do depend on each other. Before you make ludicrous accusations, I suggest you research the subject properly first."

Hermione, whose cheeks were still bright red, stared at Nightstar for a moment before storming out with the tin box and those badges. Everybody sighed as soon as she left, realising that there would be a battle sooner or later over this topic.

.

* * *

.

The next day was a Monday, which meant that they all had classes. As such, the nine friends knew that they would see Hermione in classes, as Neville had reported that he hadn't seen her since last night. Which wasn't especially worrying, though, as Hermione would most likely be in her dorm, and boys couldn't get into the girls' dorms due to the magic of Hogwarts, although girls could get into boys' dorms. And at breakfast, they saw Hermione.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry asked kindly as Hermione approached them and sat down next to Susan. She began making her breakfast – a couple of slices of toast, spread with butter, and a goblet of pumpkin juice was what Hermione took this morning – and consuming it.

"Yes, but the _house-elves_ aren't," Hermione said. "That's why I've done some research about them last night in the library."

"Did you find out that they _aren't_ slaves, as you seem to believe?"

"But they are," Hermione objected. "But that doesn't matter as much, as S.P.E.W. will help them. I've even devised a new plan to free them from slavery, and I started working on it last night. You can help me, if you join S.P.E.W. by buying a badge. It's two Sickles for a badge, by the way, if you've forgotten.

Harry signed inwardly. "What is it this time?" he asked. "Is it buying them clothes?" He meant it as a joke, but Hermione's expression told him everything. "You _didn't!_ "

"I didn't," Hermione said. "I knitted little hats and socks for them. I've only made three, so far, as I've had to knit them by hand. I've yet to find a knitting spell, if one exists. And I think I came across one while I was looking at household spells that we could do ourselves instead of getting a house-elf to clean, cook and such like for us."

"Hermione!" Susan said. "You're not supposed to do that! Yes, you may have set them free, but, they will now be in the early stages of a slow death, as they don't have any kind of magical bond with Hogwarts or Dumbledore now, and can't receive what they need to survive: magic, from a bond. _That_ is why all house-elves don't want to be set free, no matter how abusive their master or mistress. Didn't you research properly about this?"

"I used a book called _House-Elves and Why They Should Be Free_ , which I found in the library" Hermione said. "It's by a Muggleborn, who has similar views like mine, and also attempted to start a club similar to S.P.E.W., which she called R.S.P.C.H.E., or 'Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to House-Elves'. I based S.P.E.W. on her club."

"Who is this Muggleborn, anyway?" Hannah asked. "I've never heard of any R.S.P.C.H.E. or _House-Elves and Why They Should Be Free_ before."

"Her name is Melissa Brown, and she graduated from Hogwarts ten years ago," Hermione said. "According to what I could find out about her, she went on to fight for house-elves' rights in the Office for House-Elf Relocation, which is a part of the Being Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"We know what the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is, and the Being Division," Hannah said. "But, I didn't know that there was an office for house-elves. And this book, _House-Elves and Why They Should Be Free_ , doesn't seem all that good to me."

Harry sighed. "Hermione, over the past two weeks, I have noticed you have this habit of looking at magical things from the perspective of a Muggle or Muggleborn without any understanding of the wizarding world, without researching properly," he said. "As is proved from this matter about the house-elves, all you do is look at one book and take whatever's written there for truth. You don't even _compare_ that information to other books' information."

"Harry's right," Neville spoke up. "Hermione, we all know your feelings on this subject. But, when I say this, I think I speak for the whole group: we will not allow you to 'browbeat' us into joining S.P.E.W., nor your 'projects' on freeing the house-elves." As he looked around, the other members of the group nodded as well. "We will also not allow you to harp on at us about freeing our families' house-elves, either. If you don't believe us, _go to the library and research properly_ , not just with one book."

"I agree with Neville," Hannah said.

"So do I," Susan agreed.

"I agree as well," Tracey said, and the rest of their group nodded agreement. But as Hermione looked like she was about to burst into tears, she went on, "We're also very sorry to say this kind of thing to you, our good friend, but if we simply cannot get it through your head that house-elves aren't slaves, maybe the library can." She would have gone on, but Hermione had stomped off.

.

* * *

.

After class, Tracey, Luna and Susan were busy looking for books in the library about house-elves, as a way to finally get it through Hermione's head. "I think that we should try giving her this," Susan said, brandishing a pamphlet on house-elves. It was a Ministry one from after the war with Voldemort, when many important witches and wizards had been killed, leaving their house-elves without masters. As a result, many house-elves were slowly dying from a lack of magic through a bond.

The pamphlet was from the Office for House-Elf Relocation, which had been created after the Wizarding War so house-elves would find new homes, and was about 'the positive impacts on you and your immediate family that will occur as a result of you bonding with house-elves'. However, there was a section at the back which stated, 'However, as we have seen that many witches and wizards may abuse house-elves, if you apply for one, you will have to undergo several tests and interviews first', and which the three girls thought that Hermione would take that as confirmation that house-elves were slaves.

Since there was that part, but the pamphlet was perfect otherwise, they decided that they might as well give it to Hermione anyway, _but_ they would keep searching. Susan did that by casting a Doubling Charm on the pamphlet, and ripping the back page off. It wouldn't do anything, except get rid of that section and an explanation of possible tests, as well as a cartoon of a house-elf and a wizard on the back page.

A while later, Tracey 'popped up' from the lower bookshelves she was scanning, clutching a thick book titled _Elves and their Magic_. "There's a section on house-elves here, I saw it in the Contents page," Tracey said. But upon flipping to the correct page, she was rather disappointed to find out that the section was simply a list of uses for house-elves around the home, and how to bond with a house-elf. "Never mind, then. I'm sure we'll find a better one."

To their surprise, _Luna_ was the one to find the perfect book. About fifteen minutes after Tracey had found _Elves and their Magic_ , Luna reached up to the second-highest shelf of the bookshelf and pulled a silver, leather-bound book down, titled _House-Elves: Contented or Cheerless?._ It was perfect in three ways: 1) It had only been published two years ago, so Hermione couldn't dismiss it as 'being too out-dated and old-fashioned'; 2) It wasn't too thick, so Hermione could probably get through it in one evening; 3) When they scanned the book, they found it a wealth of good information. And one of the sections was that house-elves were, in fact, not slaves, contrary to Muggleborns' beliefs.

"Great!" Susan said enthusiastically. "Let's just write a note and ask Neville to deliver it to her in the Gryffindor Tower."

"But boys can't get into girls' dorms," Tracey objected. "No, let's ask Neville to deliver it to someone in Hermione's dorm. There are four other first-year Gryffindor girls, if my memory of the Sorting is correct. There's Parvati Patil, who has a twin sister, Padma, in Ravenclaw; Lavender Brown, Parvati's best friend; Lily Moon, a very quiet girl; and Sophie Roper, Lily's best friend. Sophie's father is quite famous in the trading industry, I remember, so I think I've met Sophie before."

"We'll deliver it to Sophie," Luna said. "Parvati and Lavender have detentions with Snape for gossiping in Potions, and Lily's gone to ask Professor McGonagall about extra credit. That only leaves Sophie, and Hermione, of course. But maybe Hermione will be in the Gryffindor common room, so Neville can deliver it directly to her."

Susan gaped at Luna, while Tracey softly clapped. "Logically deduced, Luna," Tracey said. "The Hat was right to put you in Ravenclaw. But how could you know about Lily? I'll give you Parvati and Lavender, they were complaining quite loudly about their detention and that they were 'merely just sharing information'."

"I just do," Luna said, with a mysterious air. "The stars told me Sophie would be the perfect choice." After a quick glance shared by Tracey and Susan, they decided to ignore it.

"We'll write the note first, before checking the book out," Tracey said. "I'll write, as my handwriting's the neatest." She grabbed a sheet of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink from her bag, and dipped the quill into the ink first before waiting, and began writing. After a few minutes, the note was done and was lightly blown dry. They then went to check out _House-Elves: Contented or Cheerless?_ under Susan's name, as Susan was the eldest out of the three. Her birthday was December 9th, 1979, while Tracey's birthday was January 26th, 1980. Luna was, of course, the youngest, being born on the 2nd of September, 1980.

.

* * *

.

That evening, the group took advantage of the fact that Hermione didn't appear at dinner to talk about a subject: Hermione's upcoming birthday, which they had only found out about after Cho had come to invite them to her "party". Afterwards, they had been discussing their birthdays and had also taken the opportunity to wish Luna a belated Happy Birthday, having not celebrated it because of what happened in the tower with the late ex-Professor Quirrell.

"We really need to do something nice for her after all this house-elf and S.P.E.W. business," Pansy said. "I know it's a Thursday, so we can't do very much, but then we can always organise a small dinner, just the ten of us. Is there anywhere that we might possibly be able to do that in Hogwarts without using a classroom?"

Hannah, their resident expert on Hogwarts seeing as she had an elder brother and sister who had both gone to/were still going to Hogwarts, frowned. "I don't know," she said. "Give me a day or so to find and ask my sister, and get back to you. That'll still give us enough time to organise one." The others nodded in agreement, and went on to discuss possibilities for that day... or evening, really, as they had classes.

.

* * *

.

That night, Hermione went into her dorm to find a dorm-mate of hers, Sophie Roper, clutching a wrapped package and waiting for her. "This is yours, Hermione," Sophie said. "Your friend, Neville Longbottom, gave it to me and told me to give it to you," she said. "Mister Longbottom also said that it's from Davis, Bones and Lovegood." Hermione thanked her and took it. She sat down on her bed and opened it to reveal three things: a letter, a silver book and a pamphlet, before picking up the letter first and reading:

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _We're very sorry if you were upset by what we said at lunch or before regarding house-elves, but we know that it is true. That book of yours by Melissa Brown,_ House-Elves and Why They Should Be Free _, is nothing more than a book trying to force witches and wizards into thinking that house-elves are slaves and they should be free. We're not saying that you shouldn't fight for house-elves' rights (actually, they're shockingly underrepresented) but that they shouldn't be "free". Their freedom is, in a way, with their master._

 _We're also not trying to feed you what you might think are lies, but instead educating you with the truth. To prove that, we've enclosed a book,_ House-Elves: Contented or Cheerless? _and a pamphlet from the Office for House-Elf Relocation, produced after the Wizarding War. It was probably partly made by that Melissa Brown, seeing as there were only five people in the Office for House-Elf Relocation at the last count, so it should be true enough. The book was also only written a couple of years ago, so it's not old at all._

 _Tracey, Susan, Luna and the rest of the group_

 _P.S._ House-Elves: Contented or Cheerless? _is borrowed from the library under Susan's name, so please don't damage it (not that you probably would, anyway)._

After reading the letter, Hermione looked doubtfully at _House-Elves and Why They Should Be Free_ , which was sitting on her nightstand. Maybe her friends were right, after all, which might be proved in that book and pamphlet.

.

* * *

Hey guys!

Thanks so much for over 200 reviews, over 800 favourites and well over 1,000 follows! I know I'm not a fast writer so it's pretty good to have all these reviews, favourites and follows! And for those who've asked me in previous chapters something along the lines of "How can Luna be in the same year as them if she's a year younger?", then the answer is in my fanfic, she's born on the 2nd of September and was accepted into the upper year due to a letter from James Potter (read the letter to Harry on the first chapter).

On another note, I've figured out how to get fanfictions onto my Kindle. Yay! It's pretty great, but you can't get updates on your Kindle, so I would advise only downloading completed fanfics like _Angry Harry and the Seven_ by Sinyk, _Isolation_ by Bex-chan or _Harry Crow_ by Robst – all some of my favourites – instead of in-progress ones.

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 5,700


	13. Requirements

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen – Requirements**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

Later that night, Neville, Luna and Daphne each received a note from Hannah by house-elves' delivery services, saying that she had found out about a possible room to hold Hermione's "party-dinner" in from a house-elf. Luna was told to share hers with Harry, as she could get into Harry's dorm whilst Harry couldn't get into hers; and Daphne was told to share hers with Tracey, Pansy and Draco. Hannah told Susan directly about the room, and Neville was told to not let anything slip to Hermione.

 _Tomorrow morning, meet me outside the Great Hall at 6 a.m.,_ Hannah had written. _I know it's early, but this room is actually special, according to this house-elf. He showed me the way last night, but I didn't have enough time before curfew to get all of you, so we'll have to go tomorrow morning._ Harry thought that one hour was a _little_ too much, even for Neville, who usually waited for Hermione in the Gryffindor common room before breakfast and would therefore have to get back there to avoid suspicion.

The next morning, the nine friends were all outside the Great Hall by six a.m. sharp, mostly yawning but eager to see this special room. "Is everyone here, then?" Hannah said as soon as the last person to come, Neville, had arrived. "Great, then let's go!" Hannah then led them two floors upstairs, before turning right and heading straight towards the end of the hallway, where there was a painting of a pretty young woman with dark hair and eyes and flowers entwined through her hair.

"Hello, Hannah," the painting said, stopping what she was doing – reading a rather thick book, part of her painting as well. "It's nice to see you again, no matter how early it is."

"Hello, Rose," Hannah replied. "I'm sorry for coming at six, but I need to get up to the seventh floor to show my friends a certain special room there. We're planning a friend's surprise birthday party, and so we're going early so she won't miss us. We need that room since we've recently had a disagreement and need to make it up to her."

"Ah!" Rose, the young woman in the painting said. "I see. Well, in that case, I suggest you use it to make it like a 'wonderland' for her, with whatever she likes the most. By the way, aren't you even going to introduce me to your friends?" She winked at them, especially the boys.

"Rose, this is Neville Longbottom," Hannah said, pointing at Neville and colouring slightly. She then pointed at them each and introduced them. "This is Susan Bones, Tracey Davis, Daphne Greengrass, Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. Guys, this is Rose."

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss..." Draco started, bowing to the painting.

"Rose," Rose said. "Just call me Rose. I don't have a last name, or really, I can't remember the surname I had when I was still alive. That happens after a while to paintings, I think. We have to remind each other constantly of our past lives and names. Something a painting known as 'Sir Cadogan' loves to do: remind himself over and over again."

"I didn't know that happened," Neville cut in. "At my ancestral home, Longbottom Hall, we have many paintings of previous members of the House of Longbottom. Some have been around since about the eleventh century or before, and they still remember who they are."

"That must be because it's an 'recorded' painting," Rose said. "'Recorded' paintings are paintings that aren't truly people – more like recordings or like large dolls in picture frames. They can learn and catch up with the times, yes, but there's a limit to how much they can learn. Mostly, they're useful for 'teaching' things or remembering people. But on the other hand, paintings like myself, 'true' paintings, we have our souls in here."

"I see, Rose," Draco said. "But may we pass now? We are short on time, as we have a limited amount of time before we have to go to breakfast."

"Oh, yes," Rose said, colouring slightly, before swinging aside to reveal a hole. "Bye, all of you. Hannah, you'll come back and visit me, won't you?"

"Of course I will," Hannah said. She waved goodbye, and crawled into the hole. "Come on guys, it's not that bad, but we'll be crawling down – or what feels like it." They crawled in a line for a few minutes, and Harry could definitely feel like they were crawling down a hill – a slightly steep one, too. Eventually, they saw a spot of light – just a tiny spot, but enough to let them know that they were near the end. "We're here now," Hannah reported. She rapped thrice with her knuckles and said, "Barnabus the Barny."

The spot of light then widened into a large gap, big enough for them to crawl out. Once they were out, they found that they were next to a tapestry of Barnabus the Barny, who was attempting to teach trolls to do ballet. There was a blank stone wall opposite, which made them wonder where the room was. "For those of you who are wondering, the Room doesn't appear until it's been called, and we're on the seventh floor. Magic, isn't it?" Hannah said, smiling. "It feels like we've gone down, but instead we've gone up."

"Wow," Neville said. "I wish that we had this in Gryffindor Tower as well. It gets quite tiring, going up and down all the time."

"Not for me," Daphne said. "Slytherin Dungeon, our common room, is below the lake. But at least it'll be warm for you in winter, it'll be freezing for us. And the castle doesn't seem to provide us with radiators or anything warm, like we have at home in winter."

"That's true, but it'll be very hot in summer up in Gryffindor Tower," Neville said. "And–"

"Can we _please_ stop talking about the temperatures in our respective dorms in different seasons?" Susan asked. "Even Hannah hasn't showed me this room, and I'm longing to find out. Han, you can lead us to it now, or tell us whatever we need to know to see this room of yours that you claim is so special."

"Thanks, Sue," Hannah said, nodding. "Alright guys, this is the big reveal. The room is actually located there, and the hidden door and only entrance is on the stone wall. It's a special room known as a Room of Requirement, or the Come-and-Go Room, as the house-elf stated. It can change into whatever you want, which I tried out last night. It's opened by walking past the door three times – opposite the tapestry – thinking of what room you need. So is there anyone who wants to test it out first?"

There was a short silence, before Tracey said, "I'll do it." She then walked past three times, all the while thinking hard. Soon, a door appeared in the blank stone wall, which they opened to reveal a sort of common room. This common room had emerald-green walls and a wooden floor, although the four Hogwarts crests were all on the back wall. In the middle of the room was a group of two loveseats and six armchairs, all black, and with a wooden coffee table in the middle. The walls had bookshelves with many books.

"Woah," Harry said. "It certainly looks a lot like it's been influenced by your inner Slytherin, but otherwise, it's perfect for all of us."

"It's pretty, but we kinda need a dining room," Neville said. "But the books are perfect, Hermione loves them."

"A little _too_ much, though," Pansy said. "If we had books, she'd forget about the dinner and run straight for the books. We wouldn't end up eating dinner at a table, more like balanced on our laps or held in our hands while searching for or reading books, or trying to get Hermione back to the table."

"That _is_ true," Neville said. "We'd better not have the books then."

"Stop worrying about the books and the bookshelves!" Hannah said, waving her hands about in frustration. "We've only got thirty minutes left. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"Me, I think I've got one," Draco said. "I'm going to try changing the room while we're inside, everyone, can you wish for my wish to come true?"

"Okay," Harry said, and everyone agreed. Draco closed his eyes, and in a few seconds the room became a blur before changing into a cosy-looking room. There was one large oak table, which was candlelit, and had exactly ten chairs. The largest one had "Hermione" on it, and looked like Dumbledore's golden throne – or chair – while the others were plain. The walls were a pastel pink colour, while the floor was pale pink. There were no books to be seen, but there was a large Gryffindor sign hanging on the back wall.

"Woah," Daphne said. "This is one _really_ cool room. I wish there was one like this at home."

"Eloquent, just like your betrothed, aren't you?" Tracey teased. "'Woah', is there any better reaction?"

"Oh, shut up, Trace," Daphne said. "But you've got to admit, this is really cool."

"It is," Luna said, speaking for the first time since they had arrived. "But can I make some minor adjustments?"

"Of course, Lu," Draco said. "I know this isn't very pretty, but it was all I could come up with." Luna nodded, and closed her eyes. Just like it had with Draco's, the room blurred before changing slightly. The furniture was all the same, but the walls were a dark red colour and the floor was made of Calcatta Gold marble tiles. The Gryffindor sign was still there, but it was now edged in gold and a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Otherwise, it stayed the same.

" _Damn_ , girl," Tracey said. "This looks fantastic, even if it's not my taste. I'm a Slytherin, after all, not a Ravenclaw."

"I agree," Susan said. "But now that we've only got fifteen minutes left, what about going back to our dorms first or going down to breakfast?"

"Alright with me," Harry said. "I'm going down to breakfast first, what all of you?" He then found out that Neville was going back to Gryffindor Tower, Susan and Hannah were going back to Hufflepuff Basement and Draco was escorting Pansy back to Slytherin Dungeon, while Daphne, Tracey and Luna were going to breakfast with Harry. At breakfast, they would all meet again, and arranged to sit at Slytherin table this morning for breakfast, although Hannah called dibs on choosing for lunch.

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* * *

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Sirius was actually quite enjoying his stay in St. Mungo's, apart from the part about the potions. He slept until ten-thirty, when he would be woken up and taken to the cafeteria for a late breakfast, before drinking those potions. He would then be taken back to his room, where he was allowed to occupy himself by whatever he wanted to do – mostly, he read back copies of the _Daily Prophet_ , as well as the day's copy – until one, when he would be taken to the cafeteria for lunch and given more potions. The afternoon would be spent doing nothing much, usually more reading as he wanted to get through _at least_ the past year's worth of papers. Dinner would be at seven, and bedtime at eight.

Another bonus part of his stay were the Healers. As there were more female Healers than male – males usually became Aurors or worked in the Ministry or politics instead – then there was a higher chance that the Healers that visited him regularly would be female. And something he found out about them was that they were usually pretty and nice to talk to, even if there were the few uglier ones. Currently, apart from Andromeda, Healer Charlotte Ogden – Andromeda's friend from the day he arrived – was his favourite.

There were also visitors that came to see him: Amelia Bones, Augusta Longbottom, the Greengrasses and surprisingly, Narcissa Malfoy, his cousin. "What are you doing here, Cissy?" Sirius asked in surprise the first time she came to see him. "Does your husband know you're here, or are you here in secret?"

"Secret, of course, and no, Lucius doesn't know I'm here," Narcissa said, looking around. "And I came to see my favourite cousin. 'Dromeda has also passed on your concerns about whether or not I'm a Death Eater, and I can prove that I'm not." She pulled up the sleeves of her robes, revealing creamy alabaster skin without a blemish.

"She told me that you're not," Sirius said. He paused for a moment, before continuing, "Cissa, I want you to be honest with me. Why are you here?"

Narcissa paused, sighing, before saying, "Very well. I came because I need your help. There are rumours going around the Dark families, rumours about You-Know-Who. I can't confirm them myself, as I'm seen as merely Narcissa Malfoy, third daughter of a minor arm of the Blacks and trophy wife to Lucius Malfoy. But you, on the other hand, will be Lord Sirius Black, Heir to the legacy and riches of the House of Black, and possible future leader of the Dark. I need them to be confirmed."

"Why, though?" Sirius asked. "You won't be in any danger yourself whether you confirm these or not."

"I will if they're true," Narcissa said. "And so will Draco and his betrothed, Pansy Parkinson. But you haven't even heard these rumours yet."

"What are these rumours, then?" Sirius asked. "I'll help, if I think that we may be in danger. But if not, I'm sorry, Cissa, but you'll have to find someone else."

"Very well," Narcissa said, looking around before lowering her voice. "I think that the Dark Lord isn't dead and is beginning to plan his return."

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* * *

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That breakfasttime, as soon as Hermione spotted them sitting at the Slytherin table, she flew over to them. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Hermione said immediately. "I saw your letter and I've read the book and the pamphlet, I get it now about the bond between house-elves and wizards and witches. Even though I don't _fully_ agree with them about house-elves, I can see where I went wrong with attempting to start S.P.E.W. and free the house-elves."

"Woah, woah, slow down, Hermione," Harry said. "First of all, why don't you clarify what letter, book and pamphlet? I never sent you anything."

"No, but Susan, Tracey and Luna did," Hermione said. "The pamphlet from the Office of House-Elf Relocation and _House-Elves: Contented or Cheerless?_ , as well as the letter."

Harry turned to face Luna, who was sitting on his left, with a serene smile. "Yes, Harry, we sent her those through Neville and Miss Sophie Roper," Luna said. "Hermione, did they help you to understand properly about house-elves then? I suspect you have finished both last night."

"Yes, I've finished them," Hermione said, calmer now that she had gotten most of it off her chest. "I'm also finished with S.P.E.W., although I'm not finished with house-elves. I want to work in the Ministry, and have always wanted to ever since I heard about the wizarding world, although I could never decide for which part of the Ministry. But now I've decided that I'll be working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and in the Office for House-Elf Relocation."

"Good for you, then," Tracey said. "I only know that I want to become either a Healer or a Potions Mistress, but I haven't decided yet. We've still got five years before we take our O.W.L.s, we don't need to know now as we may change our minds later, especially around third year."

"Why third year?" Neville, who had just joined them after Hermione had run to the group before him, asked.

"Because it's when we choose our electives," Tracey said. "Different jobs require different electives. If you don't know by third year then I'd advise you to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. If you decide on a job that requires you to have an O.W.L. in Care of Magical Creatures, Divination or Muggle Studies by fourth year, you can change without much studying as Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures are basically easy O.W.L.s and Divination requires no studying at all, just a talent for guessing things."

"I'm planning to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes anyway," Daphne said. "I've been studying the theoretical side of those subjects since I was nine, I'm not about to throw that all away pursuing an O.W.L. in something like Divination. There are hardly any jobs that require you to take Divination anyway."

"I can only think of one, really," Susan said. "That's to become a Seer, and you can only earn a lot of money from that anyway if you're famous or you work for the Department of Mysteries' Unspeakables or the Ministry as a Divination Master, as there are very few that actually have the Sight and can use it well."

"Well, I can say that I'm certain I _don't_ have the Sight," Pansy said. "And no, I'm not taking Divination either. That's just a waste of time."

" _I'll_ be taking Divination," Luna said. "I'm almost certain that I do have the Sight, at least that's my result from self-studying and self-testing. I'm also going to take Care of Magical Creatures as well, but I'm not sure about Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies, as I'm aiming to work with animals as a magizoologist."

"I can definitely see you in that job," Draco said. "Have you picked out who you're going to apprentice under?"

"Well, I'm hoping to apprentice with either Ralph or Riley Scamander," Luna said. "They're the son and daughter-in-law of Newt Scamander, who wrote _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ , as well as calming and managing to defeat an Obscurial, as well as capturing another Obscurus before that. Ralph followed in his father's footsteps, and later met Riley, a fellow magizoologist. They're both quite well known."

"Ooh, yes," Neville said. "I met them a few years ago, I think, at the Ministry Ball. Gran brought me, even though I didn't want to go."

"Typical Neville," Hannah said, blushing slightly. "You get to go to one of the two Balls of the Year, and you don't want to go." Neville coloured slightly as well, and unbeknownst to them, they weren't the only one that noticed – the other girls did, too, and they were sure that a romantic relationship with each other was in the future of Neville and Hannah, even if they didn't realise it yet.

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* * *

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That evening, Neville was chosen to "distract" Hermione, while at the same time finding out more about her preferences. What was her favourite food? Favourite colour? Those were some of the examples that Hannah willlingly helped Neville come up with. (At this, the girls hid a smile.) The rest of them would be in the Room of Requirement, but when asked then they would be in their various common rooms or the library or wherever, but not together.

Then the rest traipsed upstairs. This time, Daphne chose how the room should be configured – an apartment. "This is the Greengrass penthouse in Paris," she explained. "Mother comes here at least every month for a few days, whenever she can have some time off, but in summer we come here for a week for the fashion, which is brilliant!"

"Wow, it's really pretty here," Luna said, which was stating the obvious. The whole apartment had a rustic feel, and everything was antique but in a charming way, or "Old but not old" as Harry so eloquently put it. There were four bedrooms: Cygnus and Isabel's, Daphne's, Astoria's and a guest room, a kitchen with a dining area, a bathroom for each bedroom, and a living room that led out onto a balcony. From there, you could see over Paris, and it was like they were truly in Paris.

"It's certainly very realistic," Tracey said. "This looks just like it did when you brought me here last summer. But I wonder why the paintings are gone?" She pointed to the picture frames that hung on the walls, with names and dates, but without the actual painting itself. Most of them seemed like Greengrass ancestors, from the names and dates, and there were those born into the House of Greengrass _and_ those who married into the House of Greengrass.

"That must be because this isn't the real thing, and we have wards to protect from anything being stolen," Daphne said. "And don't worry, Harry, you'll also have a painting here when we marry. Even those who marry daughters of the House of Greengrass have paintings here and in all our properties."

"That must be so nice, to own so many properties," Luna said. "We were never very rich, seeing as we're only a Minor and Worthy House, so we've only got our house – the Rookery, also formerly known as Lovegood Manor – and a summer house in the south of France."

"That's still quite nice," Hannah said. "And don't worry, Luna, I've got about the same as you do. The Abbott family is quite large, and Lord Abbott is my grandfather. Grandpa doesn't believe in keeping everything for himself and his immediate family, so he's spread it all out. So far, we just live in Abbott Manor – informally 'The Puffy House' – with Grandpa, as his Heirs Apparent and Heiresses, and Mother and Father have two other properties only."

"But at least you don't have to worry about continuing your House," Daphne argued. "There are no male Heirs of House Greengrass – which enacted my and Harry's betrothal – so even with a betrothal, I've now got the pressure of having at least two sons to carry on the House of Potter and the House of Greengrass. The first son though will be a Potter, as there's only Harry of the Potter line left, while there are myself and Astoria for Heiresses of House Greengrass."

"I have to continue the Lovegood line as well," Luna said, "but at least I know if I don't, my cousin will step in. Her name's Diane, and she's a nice girl, but she's already betrothed to another. She's in seventh year already, so she'll be getting married next summer to her intended, Albert Nightstar. You probably know him already, he's the one that told Hermione off in the Great Hall about house-elves the other day. I hope you'll all be invited to the wedding."

"That's very nice of you, Luna," Draco said, "but haven't we got to go on with finding an ideal place for the party? While I think that your place is very pretty, Daphne, I don't think that this would be really what Hermione wants the most, as it's not her home after all."

Just then, Neville burst into the room. "Okay, guys, I managed to shake Hermione off by saying that I wanted to go to the bathroom, and reminding her about the Charms essay. But I've got a _really_ good idea for what we should do: we should recreate her home dining room. I've seen it in pictures of her and her family, when we were having our little chat and she got some pictures to show me her mum and dad. There are a few in the dining room, although parts aren't in the picture."

"Where?" Susan demanded. "Okay, we _have_ to see it. Neville, could you try imagining it?"

"Sure," Neville said, closing his eyes. The room blurred before coming back into focus, this time as something different. It was an airy, fancy and white dining/sitting room. The dining area was a sort of hemisphere, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and with white-and-black marble tiles and matched with beige curtains. There was an icy-green table with four wooden, but fancy, seats with mint-green cushions there as well. In the sitting area, the walls were white and there was a fireplace as well, with three green armchairs arranged in front over a patterned rug. There was also a bookshelf nearby, stacked full, with a TV nearby.

" _Damn_ ," Harry said. "This is one pretty home, that's for sure."

"Hermione'll _love_ this idea, if it really is how her house looks like," Hannah said. "Great idea, Nev."

"Ooh, Hermione's house looks just like my grandma's, but more Muggle-like," Pansy said. "I mean, what's _that_?" She pointed to the TV.

"That's a television, or a 'TV' for short," Susan answered. "It's basically, a Muggle device to watch things like wizarding photos, as they have moving pictures. Aunt Ami's shown me some before, when she takes me to the Ministry on occasional trips. They look quite strange, though, just funny black boxes with moving pictures."

"Can we _stop_ discussing TVs for a moment?" Harry asked. "Okay, so we've decided that this is our setting, right? Well, since there'll be the ten of us, we need to expand the table and add six more chairs, and maybe six more armchairs as well. But I don't think the books need to be real, we can just store our presents in there." Suddenly, as they were looking at it, the required furniture appeared, and the books disappeared. "Thanks... uh... Room of Requirement? Lady Hogwarts?"

They then spent the rest of the evening until curfew exploring the Room and its limits, of which it apparently had none apart from that it could only create replicas of places, and not bring them to the actual place, and that it couldn't produce food or drinks.

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* * *

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Meanwhile, Sirius was still thinking over the conversation he had had with Narcissa last night. According to the gossip she had heard, the Dark Lord was beginning to plan his return, and he was currently hiding out in a forest miles and miles away, but had sent word to one of the Dark families. She wasn't sure if it could have been Lucius, either, but it could be a possibility as Lucius had been acting more and more secretive and slightly snappy nowadays.

Then she had informed him about the current state of the Dark families. Lucius still held the power over them, having been a close advisor of the Dark Lord and reportedly having the Minister's ear, but Parkinson and Nott were beginning to grow more powerful and challenge him for the power over the Dark Houses. Parkinson had the greater claim over Nott, however, as young Pansy Parkinson was betrothed to Draco Malfoy. The three of them all held seats in the Wizengamot and had control over some departments.

Finally, she caught him up on the current state of the Ministry and the Wizengamot. "I need you to hurry up, get well, take your rightful place as Lord Black and Leader of the Dark Houses and confirm the rumours," she said. "Draco, and your godson Harrison, could be in danger if the Dark Lord does return."

"Since when have you cared about Harrison?" Sirius asked, slightly amused at the thought of Narcissa caring for someone outside her own family.

"Since Draco became his friend, and since he's a family member," Narcissa asked. "Lucius doesn't mind, 'as Harrison was revealed to be a pureblood' is the reason he gives, but I suspect it's so he can take him for the Dark Lord. And before you ask, he's a family member as he's a descendant of Dorea, the next Heir in line after you, Sirius."

"How did you work _that_ one out?" Sirius asked. "I never told anyone but James and Lily, the late Lord and Lady Potter."

"That's easy," Narcissa said with a small smile. "Andromeda was disowned, Regulus died, Bellatrix never had any children and is currently in Azkaban, and there are no other family members who have children who could be closer than Draco or Harrison. As Draco is only _third_ in line, and you're first, that must mean that Harrison is second. And yes, I did a bit of research into this after you were sent to Azkaban, to see if Draco was really the next Lord Black."

"That's interesting of you, Cissa," Sirius said, narrowing his eyes, "because I never thought that you were interested in the Lordship, money and power."

"I'm not, I'm interested in my son's future," Narcissa retorted. "I have the right to know if my son is going to hold three Lordships when he grows older."

"That's fair enough," Sirius said with a smile. "Now, about the Dark Lord..."

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* * *

Hey guys!

Because I've received several reviews about Harry's future in terms of which girl he's going to end up with, I'll clear something up. Even though I haven't written a single word of the next chapter, I can say that Harry is only going to end up with ONE person, and that's Daphne. He will _not_ have a harem, he will _not_ end up with Hermione nor any other female friends he has (no matter how much I like them friend-wise), and he will _not_ end up with Cho either, even though I like Cho reasonably well.

I'm also sorry for not posting this for a while, but as I hit a writer's block for a while, It was slightly difficult to write this chapter, even with all the Room of Requirement stuff. Believe me, if I had written everything already, I'd be posting every day and not every three weeks.

On another note, if you want to check out where I got Hermione's house ideas for the dining room, check out Mashable's "Buy Hermione Granger's 'Harry Potter' House for a whole lot of Galleons". I can't paste the link here (won't let me save, UGH) but DM me for the link if you like!

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 5,300


	14. Happy Birthday, Cho and Hermione!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen – Happy Birthday, Cho and Hermione!**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

The week soon passed by, and before they knew it, it was the eve of Hermione's birthday, the 19th of September, which was a Thursday. That day, while they still had class, they were dashing around, trying to make the following day the best they could for Hermione. While they weren't third-years and therefore, unable to go to Hogsmeade, they could still give her gifts, although gotten last-minute, such as Draco's, who wrote home for a book from the library that his father wouldn't miss, devoid of curses.

That day, they could almost _feel_ Hermione giving them strange looks as they ran to class just before the professor arrived, red-faced and panting (having run either to the Owlery in hopes that their present had arrived from home, or to the kitchen to make sure the house-elves knew exactly what they were to serve for dinner tomorrow night and had enough time to prepare), and could feel her growing increasingly suspicious as the day wore on.

That evening, Hermione looked like she was about to explode and drag one of them – probably the boys – off to interrogate them, when they were saved by the arrival of Cho and some party invitations. "Hey, everyone," Cho said brightly as she came over to them where they were sitting at the Gryffindor table that evening. "Guess what, the party's a go-through, so here are the party invitations! I do hope you'll come, my birthday party's going to be on the twenty-eighth, a Saturday, even though my birthday's on Monday."

"Ooh, I can't wait," Daphne said, accepting one of the invitations Cho was passing around to the ten of them. "What should we wear to the party?"

"Wizarding casual, nothing formal," Cho said. "Professors Flitwick and McGonagall are supervising, so unless you're going to impress them or someone else that you know's going to be at my party, I'd say it doesn't matter." She grinned at them. "And as I've told you, it's going to be near Ravenclaw Tower. Directions are on the invitations, and it's strictly invitation-only. You need your invitation if you want someone to open the door to you."

"Goodness, do you expect someone to crash your party or something?" Tracey asked.

"Yes, my dormmate, Maria Glossop," Cho said. "You might not have heard of her, but she's a _cow_ and I can't stand her. I didn't invite her to my party – I'm _not_ celebrating my thirteenth birthday with someone I can't stand, no matter how polite it is – and now she's fuming and has threatened to crash my party." She then stood up, saying, "I have to go now, but you'll come, won't you? You can tell me if you're not, just find Marietta Edgecombe or me, or if you can't, owl me."

"Of course we will," Harry said. "Thanks, Cho!" She nodded, before going back to the Ravenclaw table and her friends.

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* * *

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Meanwhile, a certain red-haired boy was glaring jealously at the group of ten, or eleven if you counted Cho before she left, sitting at the same table as he was, but further down. This boy was Ronald Weasley, and he certainly wasn't pleased with what he had gotten during his few weeks at Hogwarts so far: a best friend that wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived, barely passing grades – well, not according to Percy, who was starting to get on Ron's nerves, and nobody who would pay a modicum of attention to him.

And it was all because of Harry Potter. First, he was Sorted into Ravenclaw – even though he could forgive Harry for that – then he had been betrothed to that snake, Greengrass, and began hanging out with those Hufflepuffs, the snakes, Looney, the Squib Neville and the bookworm Hermione, instead of _him_. Studying and reading was about all Ron saw Harry do, instead of playing Quidditch or chess, which was no doubt the fault of those friends of his.

Then there was his family members. Whenever he complained, all his Mum would say was, "Don't worry, dear, we'll sort it out soon." And his Dad would do even less, instead encouraging him to "ask the Muggleborns the function of a rubber duck". He had asked Ginny, who just sobbed at the mention of Harry's female friends and Daphne; Fred and George, who just looked at him in a horrified way; and even _Percy_ , who merely told him to focus on his studies, instead of his social problems.

And now that Chinese Ravenclaw came over and invited all of them to her party, despite barely knowing them! Why didn't _he_ ever get invited to anything? Even Percy wouldn't invite him to his study sessions – not that he would go, of course, but it was the thought that counted – never mind any parties that he went to (if he did, Percy was such a boring prat anyway). Fred and George would barely speak to him every time he mentioned Harry, he was literally being ignored by them at this point.

He had tried telling Stephen Cornfoot, his best friend, about these problems, but Stephen was such a timid person that he wasn't of any help. Dean was obsessed with that silly Muggle sport – Armball? Kneeball? Football? Toeball? – and Seamus was only interested in girls and drinking, even though he was only in first year. And even though he was only _thinking_ about his problems and had only just started, he felt like screaming already.

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* * *

.

The next day, the group of friends – minus Hermione – woke up at the crack of dawn, most too excited to sleep. As they couldn't do very much, as they had classes, they had decided that they would spend the day pretending they had forgotten about her birthday, until late afternoon. They would then be taking her to the Room of Requirement – Neville had agreed to escort her, as the only male unbetrothed in their group – and celebrating with the dinner and presents.

The day crept by slowly, as the friends were all hyped-up about the birthday dinner, causing many strange looks in their direction from several Professors, as well as those from Hermione. "What has gotten into you, Mr. Longbottom? You're normally so quiet and calm in my lessons, and now you're acting as if you've drunk an extra-strong Pepper-Up Potion, by the way you haven't stopped all lesson," Professor McGonagall said in Transfiguration, accompanied by a strange look in Neville's direction.

"Sorry, Professor," Neville said. "It's okay, I haven't drunk anything I shouldn't have." And he did sit still, at least for a few minutes.

Eventually, it was time. Neville, as escort for Hermione, didn't have to do anything to help get ready, except give someone his present and ask them to put it with the other presents. Unsurprisingly to those who had realised it, he asked Hannah. The rest then made their way upstairs, and Harry, who had the clearest memory due to his photographic memory, created the room, but with slight changes such as added chairs and a longer table, as well as replacing the books on the bookshelf with their presents.

"Perfect!" Daphne said, clapping her hands.

"It's just right," Tracey said, smoothing down her robes. Since it was a surprise, they had agreed to wear their school robes, so Hermione wouldn't feel out of place being the only one dressed in school robes. "But we might need 'Happy Birthday' signs or similar as well, I've heard Muggles have those."

"Yes, they do," Harry said. He closed his eyes, and in a few moments a rainbow-coloured "Happy Birthday, Hermione!" sign appeared, along with multi-coloured balloons. Then as they waited, two house-elves popped in, laden down with plenty of good food, and set it out on the table neatly. There was a mix of wizarding dishes, Muggle dishes, and British food that wasn't Muggle or wizarding in particular, as well as drinks: pumpkin juice, Butterbeer, orange juice, Coca-Cola and plain water.

"Oh, goody!" Susan said, clapping her hands in excitement, just like Daphne. "But where's the cake?"

"Coming later, Miss," one of the house-elves said. "Special cake takes more time."

"Special cake?" Susan asked, confusedly. "Did one of you order a special cake?"

"Me," Harry said. "It's a cake with four flavours: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and mango. I saw something similar in a bakery before, and thought that it would be perfect."

"That sounds pretty good," Draco said. "I can't wait to have some. But why are there four flavours?"

"Because it's _special_ , duh," Pansy said, rolling her eyes.

"Mainly because I didn't know which flavour to get her, though," Harry said. "Chocolate's a basic flavour, even though I know she mentioned that her parents are dentists, so they don't eat much sugar. Vanilla's there because it's plain, so if she doesn't like the other flavours then she can mix it with fruit, and strawberry and mango are for variety."

"That's a good idea," Luna said. "She'll love it!"

Just then, there was a loud knock on the entrance door, before Hermione, on Neville's arm, came in. "Here's the birthday girl!" Neville announced. "Happy Birthday, Hermione!"

"Oh my Goodness!" Hermione exclaimed, with a shocked face. "You didn't have to do this! I thought you had all forgotten my birthday, with the way you acted all day, and I didn't like to remind you in case it seemed shallow to, so you'd have to say 'Happy Birthday' and give me things."

"Well, we did," Neville said, grinning. "How'd you like the room?"

"It's very nice," Hermione said. "It looks like my home, but slightly different. How _did_ you find out how my house looked like, and how'd you get it like this?"

"Pictures," Neville said. "You showed me some of your parents, and your parents were standing in the dining room and living room. For the parts I didn't know about and couldn't see, I just left it as white wall or whatever matched the surroundings. This room is also known as the 'Room of Requirement', and it can become a perfect replica of whatever you're thinking of in your mind, or create something completely different, but just as realistic."

"It's _wonderful_ ," Hermione said. "You know, we should spend a lot more time in here. It could easily become something like the library for us, as well as an exercise place for you, Harry. Then we could chat together, as we can't in the library and we're not in the same House all together. But for now, we should eat!" And with that, they ran straight for the dining table, and for a few minutes there was no sound in the room apart from the munching.

"Mmm, I have to say that this food is good," Pansy said. "The house-elves back home don't cook like this."

"Same," Draco said. "Dobby just cooks whatever, but it's usually to Father's tastes as Dobby knows Mother won't punish him if he doesn't cook to her liking, but Father will."

"Your father does?" Hermione asked, and behind her back then Susan put a finger to her lips.

"Er, no he doesn't," Draco said. "He just says it, you know, when he thinks the house-elf won't take it seriously." He was then rewarded with Susan's nod of approval.

"That's nice, your father plays with your house-elf," Hermione said. "I was also wondering – is it possible for _me_ to get a house-elf, even though I'm a Muggleborn?"

"It's possible, but slightly more difficult," Hannah said. "You'd have apply first for approval, which might take more time as you're a Muggleborn and they don't have many rights. Then once you're approved, you have to find a house-elf that's willing to bond with you. After _,_ you'd have to get your house-elf well-trained by the Ministry first in their Muggle course, in case Muggles see your house-elf. _Then_ you could probably get your house-elf."

"Why don't Muggleborns have rights, though?" Hermione asked.

"Because of blood bigotry," Tracey said. "It's a problem that's existed for decades, if not centuries. Purebloods think that they should be treated as royalty, simply because they're 'pure' wizard, and since many important positions like the Wizengamot are hereditary, Muggleborns simply don't have as many chances. Yes, they can get good jobs in the Ministry if they work hard, they can't become part of an important House unless they marry into one."

"And then many pureblood families only allow their children to marry other purebloods," Daphne added in. "And the Houses are very important as then, you're guaranteed family magic and knowledge, as well as having more power, influence and money. Another thing to point out is that since many families engage tutors, if you're from one of those families then you have a sort of 'head start' on Muggleborns in Hogwarts at first if you work hard enough."

"But, that's _not_ fair!" Hermione complained. "That means we already have less chances even before we _start_."

"Think about it, Hermione," Harry said. "It's like your parents teaching you English and extra Maths before you even arrived at school. Was _that_ cheating then? Not really. It's also like me having a perfect memory: is it 'cheating' if I can remember more without trying and studying hard, so I get better marks on tests with less work? No."

Hermione gaped in shock. "I never thought of it like that," she said. "I suppose it isn't."

"And anyway, we're not allowed wands so we have to learn about the practical sides along with you," Daphne said. "We can only study things like the theory and Potions, History of Magic and things that don't require a wand, like Flying. But Flying's dropped after the first year anyway, so there's almost no point."

"Yes," Luna said. "But Daddy always let me use his wand whenever I wanted to, as he thought that I wouldn't do any harm. I didn't usually, but there was that one time I turned everything I saw blue, including Daddy and his copies of the _Quibbler_ that he had just printed and added pictures to. But I must say, it was funny." She giggled.

After they had finished their main course, the plates magically disappeared, to be replaced with dessert: the promised "special" cake, vanilla ice-cream, fruit, pudding – especially for Luna – and even a chocolate fountain – requested by Hannah, who was a chocoholic. "Yum," Luna said, immediately reaching for pudding.

"Wait, shouldn't we sing the 'Happy Birthday' song first?" Tracey asked.

"Oh yes, I totally forgot!" Hannah said. "I'm not very used to singing it, we usually just wish them Happy Birthday and cut the cake. But _Happy Birthday to_ you–" Here they joined in, " _Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Hermione, Happy Birthday to you!_ " They clapped, before Hermione cut the cake into ten slices.

"Choose your slice," she said. "I'm sorry, but I don't know which flavour you want."

"Chocolate for me, please," Luna said, reaching for a slice of chocolate cake, before heaping pudding next to it. The others reached for similar things, and the rest of the evening was spent happily, feasting and chatting and laughing. They returned to their dorms that night a bunch of very happy teenagers – well, _nearly_ teenagers.

.

* * *

.

After Hermione's birthday, everything was mostly uneventful – just a cycle of meals, classes, homework and studying, with occasional bits of fun. Some fun was flying, for the boys, or watching the Quidditch teams train. As it was getting close to the end of September, the House Quidditch teams had been formed already, and while the game dates hadn't been decided yet, they were still training hard. Harry, who was pretty good at flying in his opinion, was thinking of trying out for the house team next year.

Currently, the Ravenclaw team had two sixth years, a fifth year, three fourth years, and one second year: Cho Chang. However, that meant that there would be no position available next year, and he would have to wait until the year after that to ask Mister Andrew Chambers, the Quidditch Captain, about a position. Cho was, however, already the Seeker, which Harry thought would be the best position for him, but he could try out for Chaser instead, as the other sixth year (not Chambers) was a Chaser.

But moving on, there was Cho's birthday party. Harry had decided that it would be best to simply give her a book, as he couldn't go anywhere to buy things without getting into trouble – not even Hogsmeade, the closest village to Hogwarts, which was barely ten minutes' walk away from Hogwarts' front gates. As he had several books which he had never read, which were on Quidditch, he thought that would be the best thing to give Cho.

So the day before her party, he went down into his trunk to find a book. Soon, he had gathered all his Quidditch-related books: _Quidditch Through the Ages_ , which he had seen several of his housemates reading; _Why Play Quidditch?: A Beginner's Guide to Quidditch_ , which he had spied Hermione reading before their first flying lesson; _To Fly or Not to Fly_ – Harry especially loved the _Hamlet_ reference; _The Player's Guide to Quidditch Details_ ; _Seeking the Snitch_ and _Quaffing With Quaffles._

After several looks through, he decided that _Seeking the Snitch_ would be the best option for Cho. Cho was a Seeker, so _Quaffing With Quaffles_ might not be the best book to give her seeing as the Seeker rarely came into contact with the Quaffle, and _Quaffing With Quaffles_ was his second choice. The first book was out as it was common and it was most likely she had already read it and the second because she wasn't a beginner. The third and fourth were out as they seemed to be quite dry.

So he climbed out, locked his trunk, and went on a hunt for wrapping paper. He eventually got a house-elf to bring him some wrapping paper, but was slightly disappointed when he saw that it was this strange maroon shade with an old-fashioned pattern on it that reminded him of Mrs. Figg's wallpaper. Mrs. Figg was his elderly neighbour, who he was always left with when the Dursleys went on holiday. But he still used that wrapping paper, as he didn't have any others and didn't like to ask again.

The next evening, he took out his invitation from Cho – crumpled at the bottom of his bookbag, as he found out once he went through his bookbag in search of the invitation. That night, he had dressed up a little, in casual green robes that "complimented" his eyes, at least according to Madam Malkin in Diagon Alley. He then headed down to the Slytherin dorms to find Daphne to escort her up to the party.

After waiting for twenty minutes – goodness, how _long_ did it take for girls to get ready? – then Daphne, Tracey, Pansy and an annoyed-looking Draco came up the stairs. Daphne was dressed in aquamarine robes that looked quite nice on her, as well as braiding ribbons through her hair. "Ready to go yet?" Harry asked, offering his arm to her. "You took _ages_ , I've been waiting for twenty minutes already. Why does it take you girls so long?"

"I know," Draco said. "I was ready fifteen minutes ago, and got ready in ten minutes but had to wait for them."

"Hey!" Tracey said. "Beauty is a full-time job, and we need as much time as possible. Why does it take you boys ten minutes, then?"

"Because there's nothing you _need_ to do," Harry said. "Put your robes on, brush your hair, you're done. What else?"

"Um, make-up, doing your hair properly, everything," Daphne said. "But let's not argue. Do any of you know where the classroom is?"

"Um... Classroom 3A," Harry said, looking at the invitation. "She says to go to the classroom next to the DADA classroom." Eventually, they made their way there, to hear and see nothing out of the ordinary. "Did Cho move the party or something?"

"Well, there's only one way to check," Tracey said, knocking on the door, before trying to open it and failing. "Hey, we've been invited to Cho's party! Let us in!"

"Invitaiton?" A voice came from behind the door. "Slide it under the door, and give your names."

The five of them slid their invitations under the door. "Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Harrison Potter, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis," Tracey then said. Slowly, the door opened to reveal a pretty girl dressed in ultramarine blue, with blond hair and dark blue eyes, probably one of Cho's dormmates.

"Come on in, you're just on time," the girl said. "I'm Emily Kneen, and I'm officially the Guardian of the Door." She rolled her eyes, and opened the door wider so they could come in. "No, I'm actually Cho's dormmate, but yes, I still have to guard the door. Here're your invitations back, or they go in the bin if you don't want them."

"They can go in the bin then," Pansy said with a shrug. "Basically, I can choose to put them in the bin in Slytherin dorm or I can put them in the bin here."

"Sure," Emily said, promptly depositing them in the rubbish bin. "Great, have fun!" She turned back towards the door, and the five friends went in. Inside, it was a normal classroom, but the walls, floor and ceiling were charmed to turn different shades of blue. The tables and chairs had all been pushed towards the walls, and on top of them food and drinks were placed. A band was in the corner, playing merrily. As they stood there, Cho approached them, dressed in silver, Chinese-style robes with phoenixes on them.

"Hey," she said. "Have you just arrived? I haven't seen you on my previous rounds around the room."

"Yup," Harry answered. "Have you any idea where Hermione, Neville, Hannah, Susan and Luna are? I would have taken Luna, but she slipped off before I could go get her."

"Luna's in the back corner, chatting with Miss Fawcett," Cho said. "Neville and Hannah are dancing with each other, while Susan's with Mister MacMillian and Hermione's dancing with Mister Finch-Fletchley. They seem quite happy together." She gave them a sly grin. Just then, Mister Diggory – a fourth-year Hufflepuff who was known to be "madly in love" with Cho, according to the Hogwarts rumour mill – which was probably going to be working overtime tomorrow after the party, came up to them.

"Hello," Mister Diggory said, greeting them before turning to Cho as the band finished their song. "Cho, may I have the next dance?"

"Oh," Cho said, smiling at him before glancing back at the friends. "I'm sorry guys, but Cedric here has been begging me to dance with him for a while, so could I leave you?"

"Of course, it's fine," Daphne said. As the pair danced away, she turned to Harry. "Now, Mister Potter, it's _your_ turn to be a gentleman and dance with me." And with that, the pair danced away, and Draco and Pansy did the same. Tracey would later meet Wayne Hopkins, her dance partner for the night and Mister MacMillian's best friend. Luna, on the other hand, danced thrice only: once with Harry, once with Neville, once with Draco.

That night, it was certainly hilarious. Fred and George Weasley – or Gred and Forge Weasley, as they called themselves – had turned up as well, at the invitation of Cedric, who knew them from Quidditch. While they didn't use Dungbombs or any of their usual products, they _did_ let off fireworks in the room, causing several screams at first and for Professor McGonagall to storm over to them when the fireworks spelled out something inappropriate.

All in all, the friends had a good time that night at Cho's party.

.

* * *

.

The next day, Sirius celebrated his release from St. Mungo's by himself. Immediately after he was released, he was taken 'home' by Andromeda. After a little bit of arguing, Andromeda finally consented to him going to Gringotts to sort out the Black family finances. But, she insisted on Apparating with him to the Ministry first, to retrieve the things that had been taken off him ten years ago when he was arrested. That included his wand, a couple of Knuts, and a key ring in the shape of a dog with two keys on it.

"That's it?" Andromeda asked, disbelievingly. "You really carry nothing else in your pockets?"

"Of course not," Sirius said. "'Dromeda, we're _wizards_ and _witches_. Anything we suddenly need, we can Apparate home to get. Before that, I was just an part-time Auror-In-Training, so I spend most of my days doing paperwork and joining in with the weekly physical training class. I never had to have anything quickly apart from my wand."

"That _is_ true," Andromeda said. "Sorry, I'm just used to having plenty of medical supplies and extra things in my pockets, as I can't Apparate home halfway through seeing a patient for no reason at all. On another note, I've also spoken to Madam Bones about letting you become a part-time Auror. She's willing to let you become one, with several conditions such as you _must_ come to emergencies and training sessions and such like. You might want to meet with her."

"I probably do," Sirius said, nodding as he picked up his stuff. "Now, can you Apparate me to Gringotts?"

"Sure," Andromeda said. The two then Apparated to one of Diagon Alley's Apparition points – this one was the Apparition point closest to Gringotts – and Andromeda let Sirius go. "You'll be fine, right?" she asked. "I'm taking the rest of the day off, and I'll be in Diagon Alley all day. Don't you _dare_ try to go somewhere else without me, you need rest, and I don't think you're up to creating Portkeys or Apparating yet."

"I won't," Sirius said with a wink, before he disappeared into Gringotts, and headed for the nearest teller. "Excuse me, but I need to see the Black Accounts Manager."

"And who are you to demand that? The House of Black is on the edge of extinction," the goblin said, not looking up for one moment.

"Heir Apparent Sirius Black," Sirius said, and _finally_ the goblin looked up at him. "Please fetch the Account Manager for me." The teller nodded, wrote something and dropped it in a box, and in a few moments a goblin came up.

"Hello, Heir Apparent," the goblin said. "The Account Manager is unfortunately busy in a meeting overseas, so I'm to look after you. You'll want to see your vault, right?"

"Well, yes, how did you know, though?" Sirius asked, slightly confused, and remaining confused for the rest of the journey on the way down to his private vault. Just as they entered his vault, however, everything became clear as to why the goblin wanted him to come down...

.

* * *

Hey guys!

Yay, I actually finished a chapter in a week, and thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites as well! On another note, I'm going to be away on holiday next weekend, so I _might_ post the next chapter (though I haven't started writing yet) either early or late (probably late, since I'm not very good at writing chapters quickly. If the chapter isn't out by next Thursday, then just know that there'll be no chapters until the next Monday at the earliest.

 _Why Play Quidditch?: A Beginner's Guide to Quidditch_ , _To Fly or Not to Fly_ , _The Player's Guide to Quidditch Details_ , _Seeking the Snitch_ and _Quaffing With Quaffles_ are all books that I just made up on the spot, although _Quidditch Through the Ages_ is an actual book. I've written in lot more Quidditch books as I can't believe there's only _Quiddich Through the Ages_ for Quidditch-related books, and that's all Quidditch fans read over and over again, along with a few magazines or something.

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 5,000


	15. Maps and Studies

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen – Maps and Studies**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

"Last night was so much fun!" Susan said that morning, a Sunday, which was the day after Cho's party. At that moment, all ten friends were sitting at the Ravenclaw table, with Cho and Marietta nearby, as well as Emily – Miss Kneen – and another petite brunette girl none of them recognised. "I've never been to a party like that before."

"Well, fun as it was, we have to get down to work and studying soon," Hermione said sensibly. "Our half-term exams are in the last week of October to the first of November, according to Professor McGonagall, meaning that we've only got a month to study for them. There's Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy and maybe Defence Against the Dark Arts, if Professor Dumbledore is of a mind to give us an exam for it, but I don't think we have a Flying exam."

"No, we do," Hannah said. "It's supposed to be a short test, so you basically just need to know how to push off, gripping it correctly and the correct way to fly: lazy 'figure 8's', quietly flying along and such like. There aren't any 'special' moves you need to know, as the school brooms are _ancient_ and most likely can't handle them."

"Uggghhhhh," Tracey moaned. "I _hate_ flying. Like, I don't mind watching the occasional game of Quidditch, but flying? Nope, not for me. The wind messes up my hair, and if it's winter, my skin gets all dry from the bitter north wind. It'll be even worse here at Hogwarts, as we're much further up north."

"I like flying," Harry said. "But Madam Hooch at least dislikes me, after last flying lesson."

"Why? What did you do?" Susan asked. "If you broke a broom, that's not your fault. Those school brooms are, as Hannah has said already, ancient and can't handle anything beyond simple flying. I wonder why the school doesn't purchase any new ones, as we already pay quite a bit to go to Hogwarts and they've surely got plenty of money in their Gringotts vault, considering how they don't need to pay rent, servants, books or much furniture, seeing as everything's already there."

"No," Harry said. "All I did was try out a small sloth grip roll that I _knew_ wouldn't damage or break the school broom – I saw it in a copy of _Seeker_ _Weekly_ that was left behind in the Ravenclaw Common Room. Madam Hooch saw me, told me to come back down and told me that I nearly gave her a heart attack and to never do that again."

"Goodness," Daphne said. "Well, I now know to never give you access to any copy of _Seeker Weekly_ or any other Quidditch-related magazine."

"Hey, I need it if I want to get on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team in third year, or next year if one of the team members quits before they leave Hogwarts for whatever reason," Harry argued. "I'm aiming for Chaser, even though Seeker's my best position, as Cho's already Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team."

"Yeah, but I heard she's considering quitting," Daphne said. "Apparently, she thinks that Quidditch takes up too much of her time, and as they never win any matches _and_ the Seeker doesn't need much training, she thinks that it's a waste of her time. She wants to be a Healer, too, so she needs good grades."

"Mmm, then I might try out," Harry said, before looking around. "Are there any more of you who want to try out for the House Quidditch teams?"

"Maybe I will," Draco said. "Father's bought me the Nimbus 2000." They then discussed Quidditch for a while, before heading off to the Room of Requirement – or "ROR," as Susan liked to call it – which was currently their favourite place to be when they were free. After all, they could talk together, they could study, they had access to books just like those in the library, and they could also workout. Neville and Draco were now joining Harry in those workouts.

.

* * *

.

A while later – Sirius had no idea how long it had been – Sirius finally came to. To his surprise, he wasn't in Gringotts anymore, but lying in St. Mungo's again, in the bed he had just recently vacated. Three Healers were by his bedside and casting spells over him frantically, while several more bustled about in the background, bringing potions, medical supplies and books to the three Healers by his bedside. Andromeda was, unsurprisingly, one of the three Healers.

"Wha-what's going on?" Sirius croaked out, his throat feeling unnaturally dry. "Could someone get me some water?"

"In a moment, Lord Black," one of the other Healers replied. "You've been out for quite a while. It's currently the evening of the 1st of October, so you've been out for about two and a half days, according to our spells. You were in critical condition when you were brought in, and there was a period when we thought you might not make it, despite our best efforts." Andromeda nodded, and as Sirius looked closely, he could see that her eyes were red and puffy.

"Do you remember what happened in Gringotts in your private vault, Sirius?" Andromeda asked, fetching Sirius a glass of water.

"No, not really," Sirius said. "I just remember that the goblin took me down to my vault, then as soon as I had unlocked it with my key, he went very quiet before he started muttering about the gold. I turned around, wondering what he was doing, when someone – the goblin, I think – jumped on me and tried to knock me out, but I fought back."

"Do you remember _which_ goblin it was?" Andromeda asked.

"No, he never introduced himself to me, now that I think of it," Sirius said. "But I do remember seeing a very distinctive scar on one of his ears, in the shape of a diamond. He came up to about the bottom of my ribcage, and I remember thinking that he was unusually tall for a goblin. His ears were also slightly 'floppy', and he was wearing the standard Gringotts uniform, but he also had a red badge on him, with the Gringotts emblem on it, a dragon."

"I know what the Gringotts emblem is, Sirius," Andromeda said. "But the red badge is quite unusual. I've never seen any Gringotts employee, or any goblin for that matter, wearing a red badge. But I'm sure he'll be quite easy to find now, with the diamond-shaped scar, the floppy ears and the red badge, as well as being quite tall."

"And before I give you any more answers, how about you explain to me what went on in the past three days, since Gringotts?" Sirius said.

Andromeda sighed. "Very well," she said. "Okay, so you know he jumped on you, right?" Sirius nodded, and she went on, "After that, he caused you quite a few injuries in the fight, some of which might have been fatal, and then must have ransacked your vault. He carried at _least_ a third of it away with him before the Gringotts security alarms went off. The goblins then found you passed out on the floor, injured, and brought you directly to the emergency ward of St. Mungo's."

"So what's going to happen now?" Sirius asked.

"Well, it's most likely that we'll find the goblin first," Andromeda said. "The Ministry is horrified that something like this could happen to someone like you, a pureblood Heir Apparent – soon-to-be Lord – of a Noble and Most Ancient House. Gringotts is also disgusted that one of its employees would do such a thing, and as a result they have banded together to search for this goblin. Not much luck so far, though, as it's most likely the goblin has skipped the country and is now somewhere far away from Magical Britain.

"But that's for the Aurors to do," she continued. "We, the Healers, will be focusing on your health. It looks like you'll be here for another week _at least_ , abed and recovering from your injuries you sustained. You'll also have to put off any plans for now, including getting your Lordship. But one thing that you should do is update your will. The Black Accounts Manager can come here, escorted by Aurors of course, and I suggest you name a Heir in case something like this happens again, and you die."

"Cheery, aren't you, 'Dromeda?" Sirius muttered. "But I've already named a Heir – my godson, Harrison "Harry" James Potter – in my old will."

"But that was before you were sent to Azkaban, and it's quite old now," Andromeda replied. "Times have changed – people like James and Lily are no longer alive, Harry's grown up and is betrothed, Cornelius Fudge is minister instead of Millicent Bagnold, who retired early last year, many Lords of the Wizengamot have changed due to the war. And since you're now the last Heir Apparent of the Blacks, you have access to much more money and heirlooms than you did before."

"Fine, I'll update my will," Sirius said. "But can you bring in the Black Account Manager sooner rather than later? I'd like to get that done as soon as possible, in case I do die from another assassination attempt the day I step out of this hospital." Andromeda nodded, and the three Healers went on casting spells at Sirius.

.

* * *

.

Back in Hogwarts, the friends were busy studying hard for their upcoming examinations, especially Hermione. Well, not all of them – Harry was lounging around, or moving lazily through the bookshelves in search of interesting books to read, or helping the others study. He did that by asking pop quiz-style questions, writing up practise exam papers, or helping them go through the library's copies of former test papers, looking for those marked 'First-Year, First Half-Term Exam'.

For Transfiguration, they went over their class notes and asked each other to perform basic transfigurations for "tests". While the wizarding-raised had a slightly harder time finding their notes due to the fact that they were just on loose sheets of parchment, Harry and Hermione had a much easier time of it. They each had a notebook – made of parchment, as Hermione had discovered that paper didn't react well with the magic in places with plenty of wizards – for each subject, which definitely helped.

For Charms, they, again, looked over their notes and at their textbooks to see which Charms they had already learnt, and practised them. Theory was apparently not such a big issue here in first year, for their half-term exams, as Professors Flitwick and McGonagall had already stated that they wouldn't be tested on much theory. Hannah explained that this was because their magical cores were developing, and they needed to practise as much as possible for maximum control.

For Defence Against the Dark Arts, Dumbledore had said that yes, they would be having an exam, but it would be quite simple and 100% practical. That meant no theory, so all they had to do was practise the spells. They practised that in the Room against dummies, which would act like a real person would when hit with the spells, so they could see if they had done it right or wrong. They also partnered up to watch over each other, to see if they were performing it correctly.

Astronomy proved to be quite easy, but for the practical part then they definitely felt like they were lucky to have the Room. The Room could easily transform into a replica of what they would see if they were at the top of the Astronomy classroom at night, so they didn't have to stay up until midnight. As they had only learnt about basic star charts, recognising a few stars and basic things like how to use a telescope, revising for Astronomy didn't take long.

Potions was harder to figure out. As their classes changed so sometimes it was Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, sometimes Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, sometimes Slytherin and Ravenclaw or Slytherin and Hufflepuff, they basically just compared notes. Luckily, it was mostly the same potions they needed to study. According to the former test papers, Potions was basically brewing a potion that Snape would choose, as well as a few theory questions about potion brewing and things in the textbook.

History of Magic was almost completely useless, but at least they didn't have an exam. When Terry Boot stood up and asked if they were going to have an exam one lesson, Binns just stared at him blankly and said, "Exam? What exam? Is it the end of the year already?" before going on with his lecture. They took that to mean that there would be no exam, and when they went through the former test papers, they couldn't see a History of Magic one.

Flying was where Harry felt he would get top marks, easy-peasy. Again, they asked the Room to configure itself into a sort of flying obstacle course, so they wouldn't have to use the Quidditch pitch or the fields outside Hogwarts, which was really the only place they could fly otherwise. They had school brooms, apart from Draco – who had the Nimbus 2000, the latest broom – and found they could get along reasonably well on them.

Every day after class, they would revise for three subjects, then revise for the other three subjects the next day, and so on, for one hour – including breaks and homework time – per subject. That meant that immediately after class, they would run up to their dorms to grab their books needed for the day's revision and homework – if they didn't have them yet – and back to the Room. Whoever was there first would configure the Room into a place ideal for studying the first subject they would that day.

"I _wish_ we had lockers here at Hogwarts," Hermione complained one day. "We did at my primary school, and while it wasn't anything fancy and usually just in our 'home' classroom, at least we didn't have to run all around the place to get the needed books."

"Then ask Professor McGonagall to think about implementing the idea, and ask the Muggle Studies teacher to help," Harry said. "Hogwarts' hallways are certainly wide enough to hold lockers, and you could put them all around the castle – like, separating them by year group or House and changing every year – so no hallway gets too crowded."

"What are these lockers, anyway?" Luna asked, slightly puzzled.

"They're like these little storage compartments, where you can store your books," Hermione explained. "You get one each, and they lock, so nobody can steal anything from your locker. They're placed together in groups at school, so some lockers will be much higher up than others. That's also a problem we're going to have to solve," she added, looking to Harry. "Some people will be much taller than others, and the first-years may have difficulty reaching up too high."

"Then organise them by House," Harry said. "That may actually be better in the long run, as the older ones will learn how to take care of the younger ones, and there won't be fights breaking out due to Gryffindors and Slytherins ending up with the same locker area." He thought for a few minutes, before saying, "Actually, we _should_ take this to the Muggle Studies Professor, as well as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. I'm sure they'd think it's a good idea."

"Do it," Daphne said, "but for now, we need to study. Exams are only two weeks away." They sighed, before getting right down to work.

.

* * *

.

That week, Sirius was finally let out of St. Mungo's for the second time in a month. Over the course of his week-long stay in St. Mungo's, the Black Account Manager – a tough-looking goblin named Blackfang, a name that Sirius laughed at for quite a while as Blackfang was the Black Account Manager – had arrived to help Sirius sort out his old will and create a new one. Originally, he was just going to edit it, but once he re-read it he realised that quite a few people were dead due to the war, so he made a new one.

First order of business was his Heirs. In order, they were to be Harry (as he was a male, even if he wasn't the closest by blood), Andromeda, then Nymphadora. He then moved on to giving away things. Quite a bit of money for Andromeda, Edward, Nymphadora, as they had welcomed him into their home when they didn't need to, quite a bit for Remus Lupin – even though they hadn't met in a decade, a tiny amount for the Order of the Phoenix and everything else for Harry. He would update his will if needed in future.

Then, Blackfang updated him on the current state of the Black vaults. The investments were mostly going well – as they were mostly in Dark families' businesses and most had escaped Azkaban – except for several businesses that had collapsed. He also apparently owned several properties: Black Manor, 12 Grimmauld Place, Black Island, Black Cottage, and Black Retreat. The latter three weren't in Britain: Black Island was one of Hawaiian islands, Black Cottage was in France and Black Retreat was in Wales.

Once he had been let out, he made his way to Gringotts again, this time being more wary than usual. There, he officially became Lord Black, with the goblins promising to send the necessary official documents to the Ministry. He then decided that his first order of business was to go to Black Manor and find out the state of the houses.

.

* * *

.

The next morning after Sirius' release from St. Mungo's, Harry received a letter from him.

 _Hey Pup,_

 _It's me, Sirius Black, or "Pa'foo", as you used to call me when you were little. I know we haven't seen each other in quite a while – the day of the trials, but only for a few minutes as I was then sent to St. Mungo's – and I'd like to start getting to know you better. I was attacked in Gringotts the week before, and now I've been let out of St. Mungo's for the second time in a month, I'd like to meet you again. A fresh start, as the Muggles would say._

 _So what do you say about meeting me in Hogsmeade on Saturday? I've written to the Greengrasses, and they're happy to collect you for an afternoon and take you to Hogsmeade. We can have lunch, chat about nonsensical things, get to know each other again. You can bring your betrothed – and the two of us, Isabel and Miss Greengrass (Cygnus and Astoria are busy) can have lunch and walk around._ _Just send your reply by this owl, and address it to "Lord Black" (still feels funny that I'm now Lord Black)._

 _Sirius Black the Ever-lovable, a.k.a. Padfoot_

Harry immediately showed Daphne, who was sitting next to him, the letter from Sirius. Once he could see that she had finished reading it – by the way her eyes left the sheet of parchment – he asked, "So do you think that I should go with Padfoot for lunch, if I can convince Dumbledore? It might be a bit dangerous, if someone's out to get him."

"Of course you should," Daphne said, reassuringly. "He's your godfather, and you haven't seen him for _ages_. You should get back into each other's lives, for more than one reason. One of the reasons is, of course, he's the last link to your parents and vice versa. Another is that he's practically related–" Before she could finish saying whatever she was going to say, a certain pair of red-headed Weasley twins sat down on either side of the couple.

"Excuse me–" Fred said.

"Did we just hear you–" The other, George, went on.

"Say the name 'Padfoot'?" Fred finished. Harry and Daphne had had to swing their heads from side to side to look at the twins while they were speaking.

"Yes," Harry replied, puzzled. "He's my godfather, why do you want to know?" And to his surprise, the twins got down onto their knees and began to repeatedly bow to him.

"Oh, sweet Merlin," the one on the left (George, they thought) cried.

"We're not worthy of your company," the second (must be Fred) said.

"Honoured godson of Padfoot–"

"The great Marauder–"

"We will worship you and the Marauders–"

"Until our dying day," the twins finished together.

"Woah, woah, woah, back up a little," Harry said. "What are the Marauders? That word sounds familiar, but I can't remember–" He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, before looking like he had remembered. " _Oh_ , you mean Padfoot, Prongs, Moony and Wormtail, right? Padfoot is Lord Sirius Black, my godfather; Prongs is my father, the late Lord James Potter; Moony is their close friend, Remus Lupin, my honorary uncle; and Wormtail is Peter Pettigrew." His face darkened. "No longer a Marauder, due to betrayal."

"I see," the twins said, slightly uncomfortable, before beginning to bow again. "Oh, great son, godson and honorary nephew of Marauders, we bow down to you!" One then stopped bowing, before pulling something out of his pocket: a tatty old piece of parchment. "This, my good sir and lady, is the legacy of the Marauders."

"A tatty piece of parchment?" Daphne asked in confusion. "Why would anyone want that?"

"It's not _just_ a piece of parchment," one said. "It's the Marauder's Map. It shows all known passages and rooms of Hogwarts, and you can even see the people moving about in Hogwarts. This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in school." He patted it. "We'll teach you how to activate it later, as we're going to be in trouble with dear old Minnie if we don't get to Transfiguration on time... _again_. And we'd rather not have detention with Filch again." They winced, before saying goodbye and departing with the map.

.

* * *

.

Later on, after classes, the twins met with Harry and Daphne, who refused to be separated, in the antechamber where the first-years had waited before the Sorting with the map. "Okay, I gather that you are here to find out about the map," Fred said. "Sorry, I just like being dramatic," he said when Daphne gave him a look.

"Alright," George said, taking out the map. "All you need to do to activate it is touch your wand to the parchment and say, ' _I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_ '."

"It took us a _month_ to find that out," Fred grumbled. "We used to guess, and then every time we got part of it right then the map would activate a little."

"And you can then deactivate it, so nobody can see it, by saying the phrase, ' _Mischief managed_ '," George went on, demonstrating. He then re-activated it and said, "Look, see, it actually works properly. As you can see, we're in the antechamber off the Great Hall."

"There are so many secret passages," Fred went on.

"Some of them not-so-secret, and some of them just shortcuts," George said. "You know, there's the one where you go down one floor and come out three floors up."

"And now, since we believe it's time we returned it, we're giving it to you," Fred said. "Make use of it well." They spent the rest of the time until dinner in there, figuring out how to use the map properly, and the possibilities of using it to keep track of other people (Dumbledore came to mind).

* * *

Meanwhile, in the dungeons of Hogwarts, a certain greasy-haired Potions Master was busy in his private potions lab. In front of him, there was a cauldron over a fire, with many ingredients nearby, as well as a large notebook. He had thought of using the idea of notebooks like Lily had in Hogwarts as well, and now he thanked her silently for it. The notebook was filled with calculations for making this new potion for Dumbledore.

Dumbledore had, of course, asked him for the potions for loyalty and love. That would have been simple to brew, he could do both of them quite quickly with the required ingredients, but now there was alchemy involved. He had always wanted to study Alchemy, but had been denied that privilege, no, _right_ , due to the war and his life as a Death Eater, then a double-agent for Dumbledore and the Dark Lord.

He double-checked his calculations, before adding in the last ingredient. This time, at least, the cauldron didn't explode. That was a good sign. He checked everything, bottled a vial, before casting a Stasis Charm over it. This was loyalty done, at least. He then wrote up the process and his calculations, and tidied up everything, apart from the cauldron, which he just left sitting there. He then went over to the Floo, and called for Dumbledore.

"Albus?" Snape called. "I have the loyalty potion done. Everything checks out, so it should work. Now you can begin giving him it..."

.

* * *

.

Over at the Burrow, Molly Weasley was a happy woman, well, at least satisfied. Dumbledore's pet potions brewer and Death Eater, Severus Snape, had finally finished brewing a loyalty potion with the alchemical component. What had taken the man so long? It had been over a _month_ , clearly the man couldn't be as talented as everyone believed and Dumbledore insisted. The house-elves could now begin giving it to Harry, as they had agreed Ron couldn't be trusted to do it properly.

Ron had been told very firmly that if he ever wanted Harry Potter to be his best friend for whatever reason, he was to take the chance _now_. If he screwed this up, there was no second chance for him. Of course, he had the easier job than Ginny, but he was much more likely to screw it up. He was also told to ask Harry home to the Burrow for the summer, if possible. Not Christmas, that was too early and they were going to Romania.

Ginny, of course, was now happy as her mother had told her that Ron would be bringing _the_ Boy-Who-Lived home for the summer, and that it was her chance to become his good friend. Good friend, then possible girlfriend, then fianceé, then wife and mother of his child. She immediately began to plot while drawing images of her and her Harry at their wedding, and with their child, and other imagined happy scenes. Not once did the fact that he was betrothed to Daphne Greengrass come across her mind.

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* * *

Hey guys!

Yay, this chapter's actually early for once! 5 days since I posted my last chapter, a record for me because I wrote this in 5 days. Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites!

I'd also like to recommend a type of fanfic, for anyone who likes comedy: Fred and George when they were young. _Surviving the Weasley Twins_ by Phantomduck, followed by _The Weasley Twins and the Sect of Kai_ and _The Weasley Twins and the Kosa Assassin_ , are some of the best! My friend ttdbzgumball also has _Fred and George and the Reign of Chaos_ on both Wattpad and here, so there are more options for you to read. _Fred and George and the Toilers of Trouble_ is pretty good as well, but it's only on Wattpad.

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 4,900 (Yup, quite a short chapter this time. I'm sorry!)


	16. The Locket

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen – The Locket**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

That Saturday, which was the 19th of October, the Greengrasses arrived to pick Harry and Daphne up. When they had asked, Dumbledore had seemed in an unusually good mood, although slightly distracted, and had granted them their request providing that they be back by 3 o'clock that afternoon. That meant that they had four hours, as Professor Flitwick had said they could leave at 11 o'clock in the morning if Dumbledore allowed their request.

That day, Harry and Daphne had both dressed slightly nicer than they usually would, in upmarket wizarding casual, while they usually just put on basic wizarding casual. Again, as they had on the day of the trials, they waited in the Great Hall for Cygnus – Isabel would be waiting with Sirius in Hogsmeade – to arrive. The other eight had gone up to the Room to put in some extra studying time – most of them were still uncomfortable on a broom – so it was just the two of them, plus Professors Flitwick and McGonagall.

At eleven o'clock sharp then Cygnus strode into the Great Hall and towards the small group waiting. "Filius. Minerva," Cygnus nodded to them. "Was there a particular reason you came to see the two children off? I know you are both extremely busy, so there must be a reason you've taken time away from your work to see them depart."

"Not really, in my case," Flitwick said. "I merely came to see Mister Potter off, as he is one of my young Ravenclaws. I bumped into Minerva on the way down here, and upon answering her questions as to where I was heading, she decided to join me as well as she wished to speak to you." Cygnus' gaze then fell upon McGonagall.

"I have some _private_ and important matters to discuss with you, Cygnus," McGonagall explained. "I don't know if it would be good to say it out loud in the Great Hall, where so many people might be able to hear due to the echoes. It is also too delicate to be spoken about via Floo or through owl-post, and I cannot Portkey or Apparate to you due to Greengrass Manor's and Hogwarts' wards. Could we possibly arrange a meeting time and a place to meet, preferably sometime soon and somewhere close?"

"Perhaps," Cygnus said. "I am, of course, rather busy at the moment in business and financial dealings related to my Potion ingredients exporting business, Greengrass Exports, as well as managing House Greengrass' finances and keeping on top of them. However, I might be free in a couple of weeks' time."

"Very well," McGonagall said. "May I owl you about possible meeting places and times?"

"Of course," Cygnus replied, and turned his attention to Harry and Daphne. "Daphne, Harry, we should be off now. I know I said I was busy, but I found my schedule clear for now after this important client canceled on me at the last minute." He scowled, before continuing, "Sirius and Isabel will be waiting for us at Hogsmeade, at Honeydukes. We didn't think you'd be hungry already, so we decided that a little shopping was in order before having a slightly early lunch at Brews and Stews Café."

"That'd be very nice, thank you," Harry said. "I've never been to Honeydukes before, and it doesn't seem to have a branch in Diagon Alley. What does Honeydukes sell?"

"Sweets, chocolate and the like," Daphne replied. "But they're not just like the things sold on the Hogwarts Express or in Muggle sweet shops, there are odd types of candy as well. For example, there are Acid Pops, which burn a hole through your tongue, although can be easily fixed, and No-Melt Ice-Cream, which is ice-cream that won't melt."

"I'd love to see it," Harry said, as the three of them set off to Hogsmeade. It was a fifteen-minute walk from the front gates of Hogwarts to the first building in Hogsmeade, and once they were there, it was another few minutes before they reached Honeydukes. Isabel was waiting outside for them, but Sirius was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Sirius?" Harry asked. "Has he gone to the bathroom or something?"

"No," Isabel said. "He just couldn't resist the 'call of Honeydukes and its sweets', as he put it, and is currently in Honeydukes, looking through the shelves." She gestured to Honeydukes' large window, where they could see Sirius happily choosing sweets. "But, now's the opportunity to buy sweets as well for yourselves and your friends, so you can't fault him for somewhat just... 'jumping the gun', as Muggles would say."

"Can we buy some for Tori, too?" Daphne asked.

"Of course," Isabel said. "It was also nice of you to think about her and her sweet-loving tastes." They laughed at that.

.

* * *

.

Back in the Headmaster's Tower, Dumbledore sat behind his desk, feeling a mixture of curious and somewhat annoyed. Through his permanent listening charms on the Great Hall – although usually kept muffled as he _definitely_ didn't want to listen to the chatter of a few hundred students amplified – he had heard the conversation between Minerva McGonagall and Cygnus Greengrass. "I have some _private_ and important matters to discuss with you, Cygnus," she had said.

And now, he was pondering. What could those matters be? Why couldn't Minerva discuss it with him, and why only with Cygnus? What could be happening? He did hope that it wasn't to do with the Philosopher's Stone or what lay behind Fluffy, as he knew that would get him into hot water with the DMLE. A Cerberus, Devil's Snare, flying keys, human-sized chess pieces and a riddle to do with potions and poisons, and all in a school. _Definitely_ something to get him into trouble.

That was why he had those special charms weaved into the wards, after all. There was the Compulsion Charm to keep them quiet, an Identification Charm and a Confudus Charm to confuse all owls so any letters containing anything about the third-floor corridor or anything there would be redirected, a Redirection Charm to redirect people's thoughts if they were thinking of speaking about it to anyone but a Hogwarts student or staff member and several others that didn't have anything to do with the third floor.

Then there were those lovely potions that Severus had helpfully brewed, and the house-elves distributed in the food. Loyalty potions to him, with some stronger potions for those in Slytherin – who had likely have Occlumency barriers, although weak, and he and Severus knew due to their Legilimency – and occasionally Love and Repulsion potions if he needed to change relationships for the Greater Good. There was Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett's, Gryffindor and Slytherin's – well, there were potions _and_ a ward.

But back to the topic. What could those "matters" be, and why couldn't she share them with him? She couldn't possibly have broken through the strong potions and charms he had on her, nor the layers of magic. Oh well, he would just have to compulse her to share those matters with him, as well as Cygnus. He would have preferred she _didn't_ share it with Cygnus, but as she had already told him, it would be too difficult to Obliviate him, Harry, young Miss Greengrass _and_ Filius.

Speaking of young Harry, he began to think of the potions. The house-elves had been given their orders, and Harry should be on those loyalty potions by now. Yes, his plan was to make Harry become friends with Ronald, but he also wanted to ensure Harry's loyalty towards him, so he had ordered Severus to make _two_ batches – one keyed towards himself, one keyed towards Ronald. Severus was now working on how to make it stronger for later on.

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* * *

.

After their visit to Honeydukes, they decided that they should have an early lunch at the Brews and Stews Café. Upon entering the café, they found that it had a very relaxed, friendly atmosphere that they liked. A few witches and wizards sat here and their in comfortable armchairs, sipping Butterbeers – or some kind of brown liquid that Harry suspected was coffee, although didn't look much like it – and reading _The Daily Prophet_. A plump, middle-aged and pink-faced woman stood behind the counter.

"Hello, dearies," the woman said, beaming at them. "Have you come for an early lunch today? Well, do sit yourself down wherever you like, and I'll bring you the menus."

Once the five were settled down, the woman then brought them a menu each. After a few minutes, Harry lay his menu down on the table, having decided on his meal: a steak and kidney pie, with Butterbeer to drink. "I'm ready to order," he said. "What about the rest of you? Are you all done yet?"

"I'm deciding between veal roast and roast beef to eat," Cygnus said. "I'm also deciding between Butterbeer and Earl Grey tea to drink."

"I'm done," Daphne said, laying down her menu as well. "And Dad, you should get the Earl Grey tea. You _always_ drink Butterbeer at home and at parties, as none of those pureblood customers and so-called acquaintances drink what they think is a 'Muggle' drink. The most they go for is plain tea, with the occasional Asian going for green tea."

"Mm, I think so too," Cygnus said. "But veal roast or roast beef?"

"Beef, it's healthier," Isabel said. "The Healer also said that you needed to start being mindful of your waist and intake of cholesterols. I'm done too, what about you, Sirius?"

"I'm done," Sirius announced, calling to the woman behind the counter. "Excuse me, we're ready to order." As the woman came over, they took turns ordering their food and drinks – surprisingly to Harry, Sirius also seemed a fan of salads, just like Isabel and some of the other Ladies he had seen at the betrothal party were. But once they were done, they turned the topic to other things – school life, how everyone was getting on, what was going on with the House of Black, everything.

"I've also moved into Black Retreat for now," Sirius said. "I was planning to move into either 12 Grimmauld Place – where I grew up – or Black Manor, but both were in _horrible_ condition. Apparently, there's only Kreacher and Bertie, house-elves, left to maintain the properties. Kreacher's in charge of Black Manor and Grimmauld Place – as they're both in England – while Bertie's in charge of the other properties. But Kreacher hasn't been doing his job properly, I'm afraid."

"So are you going to tidy it all up yourself?" Harry asked. "I could help you, if you're still not done by Christmas."

"I'm contracting a team that will clean my house, as well as getting rid of all the Dark and dangerous things in it," Sirius replied. "The two companies Cleaning Curses and Bugins, Dabmare & Co. are my current favourites at the moment. Cleaning Curses has promised to finish the curse-breaking and cleaning in a monthper house, but it's going to cost me five thousand Galleons. Bugins, Dabmare & Co. can only promise that it'll be done by around Christmas for one house, but it'll only cost three thousand."

"You're planning to move in quickly, am I correct?" Cygnus asked. Upon receiving a nod of confirmation, he said, "Then contract Cleaning Curses. It may be more expensive, but I don't think you'll regret it as it'll barely make a dent in the Black fortune. Hell, I bet you've spent far more than _that_ in one day's shopping at Diagon Alley!"

"I think you're right, Cygnus," Sirius said. "I'll write to Cleaning Curses and tell them that I want to contract them once I get home. _If_ it's done soon, I can then contract a decorator and you can all come to 12 Grimmauld Place for Christmas. I suspect that Black Manor will take much longer to do than 12 Grimmauld Place."

"That would be nice," Isabel said. "Now, shall we go for some shopping? It's one-thirty, so we've only got two hours and a half to enjoy ourselves together as a family. And we need time to get Harry and Daphne back to Hogwarts." The others nodded agreement, and they left the cozy café.

.

* * *

.

Later on, once the two children had returned to Hogwarts, Sirius made his way to 12 Grimmauld Place. While he despised the place, it was still his childhood home, and he wanted to see if there was anything he wanted – mementos, photos, anything. Maybe something of his brother's, for sentimentality, or an old photograph of the Marauders that he had had and still remembered, although anything belonging to his parents would be left alone – especially belongings of his late mother.

Once Sirius stepped foot into his house, he could see that it was even worse than he thought. Shabby wallpaper peeling off the walls, dust an inch thick lay on the furniture, and the floor seemed equally as bad except for where he could see Kreacher's footprints. Once he stepped in, he cast a Silencing Charm on the painting of his mother, before bellowing, "KREACHER! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LAZY HOUSE-ELF?"

With a _Crack!_ then a grimy house-elf, wearing a ragged pillowcase that was almost falling off him, appeared. "Yes, Master?" Kreacher said, before muttering under his breath. "The filthy blood-traitor has returned to the good Master and Mistress' home, oh how sad Kreacher is to let such filth into Mistress' home..."

"Kreacher, what is going on with the house? Why is it in extremely bad condition?" Sirius asked.

Kreacher blinked at him with two eyes. "Kreacher does not understand," he said. "The blood-traitor dares ask Kreacher about Mistress' home, oh how wicked to say so."

Sirius shook his head. "Oh, never mind," he said. "Kreacher, a team of witches and wizards from a company will be arriving within a few weeks. I expect, in that time, for you to go to Black Manor and stay there, until the team arrives. Then I want you to go to wherever Bertie is and stay there."

"What is Master doing here today?" Kreacher croaked.

"I'm here to retrieve a few things, which belong to me," Sirius said. "Rest assured, I won't be taking any of those filthy Dark artifacts or portraits." He headed past the house-elf, and immediately went straight to Regulus' old bedroom – his younger brother, who had died twelve years ago thanks to Lord Voldemort – to retrieve a few things of sentimental value. Once he entered his room, he was surprised to find a large golden locket with an "S" on the front.

He looked at the serpentine S, inlaid with glittering, green stones: It was easy to visualise it as a minuscule snake... concentrating on the letter S, imagining a serpent, while the contents of the locket rattled like a trapped cockroach. The golden doors of the locket swung wide with a little click. Behind both of the glass windows within blinked a living eye, dark and handsome. The locket had a long, golden chain which looked rather delicate.

"Kreacher!" he called. Once Kreacher had arrived, he asked, "What's this locket? Was it Master Regulus'?"

"Yes, Master," Kreacher said. "This was Master Regulus' locket."

"How do you have it?" Sirius demanded, and was slightly shocked when the elf started sobbing slightly. "Can you show me the memory?" he asked in a slightly softer tone. Kreacher nodded once, touched his finger to his temple and a memory started to play in the air in front of them...

 _They were inside a dark cave, standing on a small island made of flat, dark stone in the middle of a smooth black sea. In front of them, a basin was filled with green potion that was giving off a greenish light stood on top of a pedestal. A healthier-looking Kreacher was there next to the basin, while a young man – Regulus Black – was holding a goblet. "I must drink the potion," he was muttering to himself as he filled the goblet with potion._ _He stopped, turning to look at Kreacher. "Kreacher," he said with a tone of urgency._

 _"Yes, Master?" Kreacher said adoringly. "What does Master wish Kreacher to do?"_

 _"Once the potion is gone, you must replace the locket at the bottom of the basin with the fake locket," Regulus said urgently, holding the potion-filled goblet. "You must then Disapparate and escape without me and find a way to destroy the Horcrux in the locket. Do you understand, Kreacher?"_

 _"Yes, Master," Kreacher said._

 _"Well, here goes," Regulus said, downing the potion. Nothing happened for a while. But after a few gobletfuls, he started to shake, before speaking in a strange voice. "No... no... please stop... please..." He staggered to the edge of the water, bending down to scoop some water up. But immediately many hands, pale white hands started to grab him and drag him underwater. For a moment, his eyes glazed, but then cleared. "KREACHER!" he yelled._

 _"Yes, Master?" Kreacher repeated._

 _"You must switch the lockets," he panted, trying to avoid being dragged underwater. "Kreacher, I give you my final order. It is to switch the locket, go home without me, and find a way to destroy the locket. That is my final order. Goodbye." With that, he closed his eyes and let the hands drag him into the water, looking almost peaceful as he did. Crying, Kreacher switched the lockets, before Disapparating with a loud Crack_.

"So... the locket is a Horcrux?" Sirius asked, tears running down his cheeks at seeing his brother's death. "What is a Horcrux?"

"Kreacher does not know," Kreacher said, similar tears running down his cheeks. He gave a loud sniff and said, "But Kreacher could not destroy it. Kreacher tried everything – burning it, cutting it – but it does not work! Kreacher tried house-elf magic, but elf magic is not working either!"

"Don't worry, Kreacher," Sirius said. "I'll try to destroy it." He then spent the rest of the time in silence, gathering only a few belongings, before Disapparating from the house.

.

* * *

.

Meanwhile, in the most secure area of the Department of Mysteries, or the "DoM" for short, a small team of Unspeakables sat in a meeting. "The new Lord Black has figured out what a Horcrux is, and he has found one," one of the Unspeakables said. "It is what we suspect to be Slytherin's locket."

"How does it look like, Roll?" a second Unspeakable, 'Toad', asked. "I may get someone to approach Lord Black." 'Roll', the first Unspeakable, instead put her wand to her temple and pulled out a memory. She dropped it into a Pensieve, which was next to the table, and tapping a few runes, an image appeared in mid-air above the Pensieve.

"Toad, what shall we do about it?" another Unspeakable, 'Book', asked. "We _cannot_ allow this to continue to exist! Why have you not told us about Horcruxes before?"

'Toad' sighed, massaging his temple. "I could not," he said. "That information is classified, and very few know about it. I could probably count on my hands the number of people in the whole of Magical Europe who have either heard of or seen the word 'Horcrux', and probably count on one hand the number of people who know what a Horcrux is. Hardly anyone knows how to make a Horcrux, and there are very few books written on the subject."

"I suppose you know all about it though, don't you?" 'Roll' replied. "Bird, what do you say, as our expert on souls and soul magic?"

"I say that we start researching about it," 'Bird', another Unspeakable, quietly replied. "I agree with Book. We cannot allow this to exist. Book, as Head of Research, have you come across anything that might help in destroying Horcruxes, detecting Horcruxes, creating them, anything like that in your research before?"

"No, I'm sorry," 'Book' replied. "Toad, shouldn't we make this a 'DoM Classified' topic then? And continue to monitor Lord Black and the locket?"

'Toad' frowned. "Yes, as hard as it will be due to his status as the last of the Blacks and a Lord, we should," he said. "You are right, Book. I will make this a 'DoM Classified' topic, and anything that was discussed here just now is never to be discussed with anybody else."

.

* * *

.

Severus Snape was currently sweating over his Potions cauldron again. A fine Saturday, and he was stuck behind his cauldron, in the dungeons. Not that he really minded, as he never really went anywhere except for inside Hogwarts anyway. This time, at least, he wasn't slaving over those Merlin-bedamned loyalty potions that Albus wanted. But it wasn't much better, he was stuck making Healing potions for Madam Pomfrey.

"Right, that's the Neutralisers done," he muttered to himself, checking it off a long, long list of potions and cures Madam Pomfrey wanted. And by the end of November at the latest, no less! He had plenty of classes to write exam papers for, as well as then marking all of them, and not to mention all those assignments and essays he had to mark. Then there was the time that he needed to make out his class plans for the next term in more detail, as he only had a rough outline. When was he going to do _that_?

"Stupid woman," he said to himself. "You can jolly well make some of these potions yourself. I daresay you don't even have much to do, apart from demand potions from _me_ and laze about in the Infirmary. You must have tidied that blasted place a hundred times by now and reorganised that office of yours just as many times."

He then was distracted by a stabbing in his arm. _Could it be?_ He wondered to himself. _No, it couldn't_. But as he rolled up his sleeve, he found his worst nightmare confirmed...

.

* * *

.

Meanwhile, Harry, Daphne, Neville, Hermione, Draco, Tracey, Susan, Hannah, Luna, Pansy and the twins were currently in the library, looking over the map. While they – the ten friends currently in first year – thought it might be a bit early to trust them – the Weasley twins – with such a huge secret as the existence of the Room of Requirement, they thought that they should probably have a look over the map with the twins in case there were any hidden features.

"No, not really, there aren't," Fred said, frowning. "Well, you can see the moving dots, and you can 'find' people, but that's it."

"What do you mean, you can 'find' people?" Neville asked.

"Well, that means you can tap the map, and call a name," George replied. "Then, it shows you whether or not that person is in Hogwarts, and where in Hogwarts."

"Ooh, I've just found us," Pansy said, sounding rather excited. "Look, in the library." She pointed to a cluster of dots.

"It can also show you how to get through secret passages with passwords," Fred said. "Once you approach a secret passage, the 'dot' you will take out a wand and a bubble with the correct password will appear in the bubble. Quite good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Draco said excitedly. "Think of all the people we can spy on!" Lowering his voice, he said, "We can spy on Dumbledore and Snape. While Snape's my Head of House, I still don't trust him and I trust Dumbledore even less. They just seem so... slippery."

"I agree," Harry said. "Great, this map has found a use: spying on the greasy bat and the whiskered goat!"

.

* * *

.

But the exams were nearly upon them, so they couldn't spend much time using the map, as they found out. There wasn't too much to revise for, but Snape was introducing a new potion every lesson, acting as if they all like Harry had photographic memories. "I'll be testing you on a random potion we've already done on the exam," Snape said one end of lesson. "Learn how to brew all of those potions we've covered by memory, and the theory relating to it."

"He seems so much more snappish than he was before," Hannah remarked one lunchtime.

"But there's just _so_ much studying to do!" Hermione said. "I mean, we've got to know all those things about potions and how to brew them by memory!"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, _relax_ ," Neville said. "You've got to stop, Hermione. It's only a half-term exam, and it's only for first-year. What will you do when we've got to do our O.W.L.s in fifth year and N.E.W.T.s in seventh year? And if you choose, your W.O.M.B.A.T.s in second year at the Ministry? You'll fall ill, if not die, of stress-related sicknesses!"

"He's right, Hermione," Hannah said. "You must _relax_. There's always someone who falls ill due to stress, and I don't want you to do the same when it's our turn. Why are you so stressed anyway? Is there a particular reason for this?"

Hermione's shoulders sagged. "Not really, but I care about my grades," she said quietly. "I know about all this pureblood bigotry, and I know that I have to prove myself to be just as good as, if not better, than a pureblood. I want the phrase to be when people find out I'm a Muggleborn, 'Oh, she's not a pureblood, she's a Muggleborn? I didn't realise that' rather than 'Of _course_ she's not a pureblood, she's so obviously a Muggleborn'."

"Hermione!" Daphne said, flying to hug her. "Don't believe all the blood bigotry! It's _not true_ , and it's not right! Look, yes, Muggleborns are discriminated in Magical Britain, but you don't need to use grades to prove it. Just do the best you can, and don't stress yourself out about it!" She hesitated, before lowering her voice. "Mother also has this theory that Muggleborns are descendants from Squibs. Her other theory is that they're actually just as pure as purebloods, because what do you call the children of two Muggleborns?"

"I... don't know," Pansy said. "I suppose that question's never been asked before."

"So they're as good as purebloods," Daphne said. "Yes, purebloods have their family magics and knowledge and whatnot, but what does that do? Nothing really in Hogwarts, where there's so much to learn, everyone might as well as be like Muggleborns. And, as Muggleborns are curious about this world, they drive themselves to learn more, and they get better grades on average anyway. I can safely say, Hermione, that you'll probably be in the top three _at least_."

"Thanks, Daphne," Hermione said. "That was nice, but I still need to study." She gave a rueful grin, eliciting chuckles from the ten of them and a few others who had heard Daphne's first remarks, although not the part about the 'theories'.

.

* * *

Hey guys!

Okay... so I've received several reviews about the potions, and a few reviewers have said that they hope it doesn't last too long, Dumbledore is foiled and such like, in several different ways. I've decided that while it may last quite a few chapters in this fanfiction, it won't stretch out to the end of the fanfiction. I won't give you any more hints so I won't spoil it – you seem like okay guessers – so that's all you'll get until everything reveals itself.

Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting my story! And also, I think that I'm going to try and post a new chapter every Friday (from about 8 to 11 a.m. GMT, I think, if I've calculated right and I post at about that time) unless something comes up (holiday, busy life, stuff like that that's quite important) so there's none of me posting once a month at completely random times. Enjoy!

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 5,000


	17. Halloween and First Exams

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen – Halloween and First Exams**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

Unfortunately, the half-term exams, which Hermione had been stressing about so much, were now upon them. On the Friday before the last week of October, the twenty-fifth of October, they were required to sit at their House tables for breakfast. Then, their Head of Houses would be giving out their test schedules for the next two weeks. Those in seventh and fifth years had significantly fuller schedules, as their tests were much longer and more difficult, due to them being in their N.E.W.T. and O.W.L. year, respectively.

Luckily, in first year then each test would be no longer than a double class period, maximum, and that included both the theory and the practical. None of them looked forward to the tests, but some looked on the bright side, including the major perks of having tests: 1. They had plenty of time to study, as the professors didn't teach in the classes before the year finished the exams; 2. Once the year finished their exams, which they did halfway through the second week, the Professors became more relaxed towards them.

Another perk, which Harry discovered, was that due to the mixing of Houses in Potions (Ravenclaw had Potions with Gryffindor and Slytherin) then they didn't have exams both times, as they didn't have to have yet another exam in their class with Slytherin. But, of course, they preferred to have Potions with Slytherin as Snape was then in a better mood. He favoured Slytherin, which helped, and he tolerated Ravenclaws as they were clever enough and knowledgeable enough, as well as willing to study to get good marks.

When the ten friends compared schedules, they found out that they had tests every day put together, until they finished halfway through the second week. And promptly decided that once they were done, they would relax _properly_ for the rest of the week. None of this starting to study for the exams at Christmas, the first term exams, which Hermione was definitely going to insist on. None of this studying ahead, and more of the partying – well, maybe – and relaxing and maybe pranking with the Weasley twins.

Most difficult for Harry was Potions, although by not much. That was on Monday morning, so they decided that they would spend more time revising for Potions. Snape had, in his hatred towards all things Gryffindor, decided to tell them that they would be having a more difficult test than the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, as they "deserved to have a more difficult test" because they were "more clever than the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins". So that meant the majority of first year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were complaining.

"I _wish_ they would just fire the man," Neville complained one day. "He's bigoted, rude, completely unprofessional, as well as completely unable to teach. I bet if Binns was our teacher, we'd learn more about Potions than we would from Snape. Yes, he might be a brilliant Potions Master with Outstandings in Potions for his O.W.L. and his N.E.W.T., as well as holding a Masters Degree in the subject, but he is a poor educator. If there was a class and an O.W.L. and a N.E.W.T. on educating other people, Snape would get a 'T'."

"That's similar to the reason why I didn't want to be put into Gryffindor," Susan added in. "The Hat said that I would do well as either a Gryffindor with Hufflepuff tendencies, or a Hufflepuff with Gryffindor tendencies. But, it also said that I would be better as a Gryffindor. But I didn't want to be separated from Hannah, and neither did I want to become one of the many targets for Slytherin pranks, which are usually against Gryffindors. And neither did I want to become one of Snape's main targets in Potions, as a Gryffindor."

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* * *

.

Over the weekend, the group spent the majority of their time in the Room of Requirement studying. Hermione and Neville, Susan and Hannah had Potions first thing on Monday, while Harry, Luna, Daphne, Tracey, Pansy and Draco had Defence Against the Dark Arts for their first exam. "I'm probably going to get a _really_ bad score for DADA," Draco complained over the weekend to the group. "Dumbledore may be a good teacher, but he's nearly as bigoted against Slytherins as Snape is against Gryffindors and towards us."

"No, you won't, but I will," Pansy said. "Your father's on the School Board, at least, and it's well-known Dumbledore hates the School Board and would do anything to keep them out of Hogwarts. If he gives you poor marks, your father will come in complaining and threatening to remove Dumbledore from the post of Headmaster – and we all know that he would do it, he hates Dumbledore that much. But if he gives _me_ really bad marks, nothing bad's going to happen to him and his job as my father's not on the School Board."

"He's not going to give _any_ of you bad scores," Hermione said firmly. "You're all so good at DADA, there's no way he _can_ give you bad scores without your parents complaining. And Pansy, didn't you say that your father held a seat on the Wizengamot? There's no way he'd want to go against the 'Dark' faction of the Wizengamot, as your father and Draco's father would somehow destroy his reputation in some way, or get rid of him in some way. He _definitely_ knows about the betrothal, and what Draco's father would do."

"Ugh, can we _please_ stop talking about this?" Tracey complained. "You're just reminding me of my maternal grandmother. Every time I see her at a family gathering or anything, she says that I should be betrothed with a 'suitable young man of a Noble and Ancient House, at the very least', and that she 'knows many Houses with single sons that are of the main cadet line that would be happy to be betrothed to me'. Luckily, Father and Mother think I should be allowed to fall in love first, and I'm too young anyway."

"Alright, alright, we'll stop," Pansy said, giggling slightly at Tracey's expression. "But moving on. I think that we should take a study break, at least. It's–" She cast the _Tempus_ Charm, to reveal that it was already three o'clock on Saturday afternoon "–three o'clock in the afternoon already. We've barely eaten anything for breakfast, only taken twenty minutes for lunch, and we're all exhausted from studying. I think that we're as ready as we can be for our first three exams, at the minimum. What do you think about a break?"

"Good idea," Harry said. "Let's pack up, and head down to the kitchens. I'm hungry, and I feel we could all do with some afternoon snacks." Upon seeing Hermione open her mouth, probably to object, he raised his hands in a 'Stop' signal and said, "But if you don't want to, I can always go down and get you food and bring it back up, or we can call for a house-elf or house-elves to bring food up to us. I know your feelings on house-elves and I respect them, 'Mione, but it won't do them any harm to fetch us light snacks."

"Alright," Hermione replied, although slightly reluctant. "Let's call for one of the house-elves. Harry, do you remember the name of the house-elf we called last time?"

"Blizzard, I think," Harry said, frowning slightly while trying to remember and find the correct memory. "Let's call for Blizzard anyway. If we're wrong it won't do any harm."

"Blizzard!" Hermione called, clapping her hands. With a loud _Crack!_ then the same house-elf as the one who showed them to the kitchens appeared, still wearing that tea towel.

"Yes, Miss?" Blizzard squeaked, bowing deeply. "Blizzard is honoured to serve the Boy-Who-Lived and the friends of the Boy-Who-Lived! What would Misses and Masters like?"

"Some tea," Hermione said. "I think we'll have a selection of cakes, both sugary and non-sugary ones, ten bottles of Butterbeers, a selection of fruit and some cheese, please."

Blizzard squeaked that it would be coming, bowed, and Disapparated with another loud _Crack!_ Once he was gone, Hermione looked around the room at the other nine friends, who were mostly still looking at their notes and their textbooks, practising the practical part or trying out some of those practise tests Harry had drawn up or copies of past papers. "Did I choose right?" she asked. "The food for our snack. I thought you'd all like Butterbeer, not tea, and cakes. And the fruit and cheese are to cleanse the palate."

"Yes, you did, Hermione," Daphne reassured her. "Now, stop worrying about the food for our snacks and focus on your studies." And that was what they did.

.

* * *

.

Defence Against the Dark Arts, the first exam, was relatively easy. The theory part was basically answering a few questions about the theory of some spells and what they did. There was nothing particularly complicated, just basic spells. There were extra questions, which were optional and would not be counted in the maximum amount of points you could get, but they would be counted in the total points you got, which they tried, although some of the group found it more difficult than others.

Then they had the practical portion of the Defence Against the Dark Arts exam. For that, Dumbledore just asked them to demonstrate a few spells in front of him, which Harry was perfectly fine about, and thought he did very well when it came to the bonus questions, which were to perform two spells that hadn't been taught in Hogwarts yet, although Harry had read about them: _Petrificus Totalus_ and _Stupefy_. The first would paralyse the victim so they couldn't move, while the second would render the victim unconscious.

Along came Potions, though. That was difficult, as Snape had them brewing a rather advanced first-year potion and answering slightly harder questions. Even Harry and Hermione, who were the best in academic subjects – Harry due to his photographic memory and Hermione due to her driven attitude towards studying – felt that it was quite tricky. Luckily, while the potion was advanced, it only required about forty-five minutes to brew and they had nearly two hours for the whole exam, including the theory part.

Then there was Charms, which they felt was quite easy as well. The theory portion was similar to the paper used in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but instead of using the spells from DADA, there were charms. _Wingardium Leviosa_ was the bonus question this time, as according to Professor Flitwick, they were only going to be learning about it after the exam. That was a spell that would levitate the object they pointed at off the surface upon which it was lying for a short while of time, and was easier with light things.

After, there was Astronomy, which was held at night as usual. Because none of them wanted to fall asleep halfway through, they decided not to study in the hours leading up to the exam, but to have a nap. Then they would wake up about half an hour to an hour before the exam, and then they'd go over a few "sticky" parts before heading up to the exam. The exam was just to fill in star charts based on what they saw in the telescope and answer some questions like naming a few moons, as well as describing Earth's moon.

Flying was easy. Madam Hooch only wanted them to fly lazily around, and do a few figure eights. Theory consisted of a few questions, mostly to do with safety while flying.

And then last, but not least, was Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall was certainly strict, although she wasn't as bad as Snape was. There were many things to study for the theory and the practical, but the practical portion only consisted of one spell and the bonus, although it was a quite tricky spell. The bonus spell, as Harry learned later, was a third-year-level Transfiguration spell. And one of the bonus questions in the theory part was about an O.W.L.-level Transfiguration spell, and the question _was_ part of the O.W.L.

.

* * *

.

Over the first few days of the first exam week, though, the group noticed Harry growing moodier and moodier, although it was only when their exam was over and he wasn't distracted by studying or other activities, and decided to ask Daphne about it, as Harry's betrothed. When asked, Daphne sighed, crossed her arms and paused for a while. "It's Halloween on Thursday," she said eventually. "Can't you remember what Halloween means for the wizarding world, and then think about what it means for Harry?"\

"Yes," Draco said, puzzled. "It's the anniversary of Voldemort's defeat for the wizarding world."

"Oh my _God_ ," Hermione said, facepalming herself. "How could I have been so _stupid_? It's the anniversary of his parents' death! Well, what can we do? Have you talked to him about it, and what he's going to do that night? There's a Halloween Feast, which is mandatory to go to, so I don't know what we can do."

"I'll talk to Harry," Daphne said. "I don't think he'll be going to that feast. Hell, _I'll_ stay away with him if he wants me to."

"I would, but Dumbledore would just send us back if he caught us," Neville said. "Harry has a good excuse for not attending, and so do you, as his betrothed. But we're only protected by the bonds of friendship, which has no meaning to the law and to Dumbledore. Only formal contracts and alliances do, and while Susan's and my House are allies of the House of Potter, the others can't really use the "alliance" excuse."

"I know," Daphne said. "That's why I volunteered. I _am_ capable of thinking, you know. I'm not one of the 'sheep' that seem to populate Magical Britain. Haven't you noticed?"

"I have to say that I have," Hermione said. "But back to the topic of Harry. You'll talk to him, right?"

"Of course I will," Daphne reassured her. "He's my betrothed. I _have_ to talk to him, and maybe get him a mind-healer or something to help him get over it."

So on Halloween, as soon as classes ended for the day, Harry drew the group aside. "I'll be going to bed early, alright?" he said quietly, so nobody else outside the group could hear. "I won't be coming down to the feast, and I'm sorry for what I've put you through the past few days. Daphne will be coming with you, so Daph, don't worry about me. I'll be asleep, anyway, and I don't think you want to watch me just sleep."

Daphne sighed. "Very well," she said. "But, if you need me, just send a house-elf with a note for me, and confirm that it's from you by signing your name with a 'xo' after it. I'll be with you immediately, no matter what they say about mandatory attendance at the feasts. My betrothed is more important than a Hogwarts feast."

Harry smiled a little, before settling back. "Well, have a good time, and don't worry about me," he said. "Daphne, you do have the note for Professor Flitwick, right?"

"Yes, in my pocket," she replied. "To you others, the note is a note telling Professor Flitwick that Harry won't be attending the feast, due to the fact that he has 'no intention of attending a feast which basically _celebrates_ his parents' murder at the wand of the Dark Lord, and that he needs some time to be alone and internalise it'." The other eight nodded, and they walked in one large group up to the Room. Later, they separated once it was nearly time to go to the Feast, with Harry heading back to Ravenclaw Tower.

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* * *

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When they arrived at the Halloween Feast, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated with the usual live bats, Hagrid's vast pumpkins had been carved into lanterns large enough for three men to sit in, and there were rumours that Dumbledore had booked a troupe of dancing skeletons for the entertainment that evening, as the ghosts were tired of "performing" every Halloween Feast. It was festooned with all sorts of Halloween-related decorations, as well, to "get into the spirit".

They sat down at their respective House tables – Luna, without Harry and the others to sit with, sat with the four other girls in her dorm: Mandy Brocklehurst, Padma Patil – the identical twin sister of Gryffindor first-year Parvati Patil – Lisa Turpin and Sue Li. They were nice and kind to her when they crossed paths, she had said before, but as they already were best friends they weren't very close with her, and vice versa. Of course, the others sat with the member(s) of their group that were in the same House as they.

"Where's Mister Potter?" Parvati Patil asked, as she saw Luna sit down next to them. "I thought you'd be sitting with him."

"He's not attending," Luna replied simply. "He, as he put it, 'has no intention of attending a feast which basically celebrates his parents' murder'."

"Ah," Lisa said, understanding. "Well, if that's the case, you're more than welcome to sit with us. We might become closer friends than we are now by the end of this feast."

"Yes, we might," Luna said. "After all, we are dormmates and Housemates." They nodded in agreement, smiled and began chatting, until the feast officially started when Dumbledore stood up to make another of his speeches. The only good part about Dumbledore's speeches was that his speeches were never very long, unlike some other people.

"Welcome one, and welcome all!" Dumbledore said, holding his arms out wide as if he wanted to hug everyone at once. "Now, before we begin the Feast, I have a few words to say as I'd rather say it _now_ , rather than say it at the end of the Feast when you'll all be longing to get to your beds. I have recently grown concerned about the number of footprints in the dust – mostly students' – in the third floor corridor that I found when I was checking on the thing I am currently keeping in there.

"There are, as a rough estimate, at _least_ forty different footprints in the dust. So I would like to remind you all once more that the third-floor corridor is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death," he concluded. "I would also like to remind you all–" He stared at the Weasley twins, who both grinned "–that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden, and that is why it is called the 'Forbidden Forest, not 'Welcome All Forest'. But on to a happier note, let the feast begin!" And he sat down.

Once the food appeared, they were busy getting plates of food first. But then, the five began to discuss what Dumbledore had said about the third-floor corridor, the out-of-bounds place. "I've actually visited," Sue Li admitted. "Well, I walked all the way to the end, before hearing a low growl and deciding that I would rather not go in."

"Of course," Lisa, Sue's best friend, grinned at her. "Sue's definitely not a Gryffindor, then. Gryffindors would walk straight in."

"Of course I'm not," Sue said. "Actually, for me it was a decision between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. What about you guys?"

"I was either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw," Padma replied. "But I decided that since my sister was most likely going in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, I decided that I'd rather go to Ravenclaw and have some time away from her. I love my sister and all, but sometimes it just feels like she's not my twin, as we're so different in so many ways."

"I agree," Mandy said. "I've seen your sister around, and she is totally _not_ you." The five of them smiled at that comment.

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* * *

.

The day after Halloween, Harry was back to normal, although slightly surprised at the number of hugs he received from his friends, even from Draco, who practically never hugged anyone. "You'll be alright, won't you, Harry?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Don't fail your exam today because of Halloween. It wasn't that nice anyway, as we couldn't sit together and it was boring _._ All the girls want to do is gossip with each other, and _nobody_ wants to study, and we can't with Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown around."

"Of course I will, 'Mione," Harry said, smiling. "It's just... Halloween's never been that great for me. It's like Fate just _made_ Halloween my unlucky day of the year. For example, that was the day my parents were murdered. When I lived with the Dursleys, they actually celebrated Halloween, and Dudley made it the day that he would dress up in something like a vampire, before jumping out at me, covered with red ketchup and holding a plastic knife that was actually quite realistic. It scared the _Hell_ out of me."

"I understand," Daphne said softly. "But then, we'll just have to make Halloween better for you. And speaking of feeling better, how do you feel about going to a mind-healer?"

Harry stopped. "A mind-healer? Why?" He asked.

"To help you get over your parents' deaths, and the death of 'Quirrelmort'," Daphne said. "You probably also need to get over what you suffered at the hands of the Dursleys. If you really think about it properly, there seem to be quite a number of things you need to get over, and a mind-healer would probably be good for you."

"I... I suppose so," Harry said. "But I need time to think about it. I know that the Potter vaults can probably afford it – it'll barely make a dent in the fortune, anyway – so money's definitely not a problem. But the Healer themselves are. If I'm paying for treatment, I want it to be _good_ treatment so it's worth the money I paid, from a properly qualified Healer, not a barely-trained one that's fresh out of Hogwarts. I also don't care how long it needs to go on for, but I'd prefer it if it didn't stretch out for years."

"That makes sense," Daphne said. "Look, I'll write to my parents about it, and we can sit down and have a long talk about it."

"That would be okay," Harry said. "Make it so it's soon, rather than at the Christmas holidays. I think if you think it important, it's best not to wait another nearly two months."

.

* * *

.

Sirius, meanwhile, was meeting with the senior manager of Cleaning Curses. "Definitely a month, right?" Sirius asked. "Because if that's the case, then is it possible for you to clean out _both_ my houses at the same time? I'd like to get them done as soon as possible, because I'd rather live in those houses rather than where I'm living right now."

"I think we could, but it'd cost a bit more," the senior manager, a wizard named Stewart Huntingdon, replied. "About... four hundred Galleons? I'm afraid that's because we'd have to shift most members towards cleaning and curse-breaking the items in your homes, rather than on the several other jobs that we have."

"That's fine by me," Sirius replied. "My Law-wizard has drawn up a contract already, and all I need is for you to sign it. It just needs a few amendments, due to the part about the extra four hundred Galleons, but I'm sure it can be done soon." He pulled a small slip of parchment out of the pocket of his robes, and handed it to Mister Huntingdon. "You can Floo my Law-wizard at the above address, and that is the password to Floo-call him. If you need to owl me, pass it on to him with the word 'Cleaning' and it will be done."

"I understand, Lord Black," Mister Huntingdon replied. "Once the contract is signed, we can begin work the next day, even later that very day if we sign it early enough in the morning. You can start counting down the days until then, and I'd advise you to add in a few extra days to your expectations as so not to be _too_ disappointed if there are some... tricky items to deal with, which I have been led to believe would be easily found in homes belonging to your family, due to the Dark tendencies."

"I'll count down from forty days, then," Sirius said, nodding. "I hope that's generous enough, seeing as you promised it'd be done 'in a month'. If it exceeds fifty days, you can be sure I'll spread the word that Cleaning Curses is definitely _not_ a one-month-finished company, but makes it longer. Because if that's the case, I'd rather have gone to Bugins, Dabmare  & Co., which was my second choice. It may take two months, but at least it's two thousand Galleons cheaper." Steve Huntingdon nodded.

.

* * *

.

That night, as Cygnus and Isabel were getting ready to go to sleep and have a good night's rest, a tawny owl with stripe-markings flew towards their bedroom window at top speed, before smashing into it. Cygnus hurried to the window and rescued the owl, where it had been knocked unconscious by the force at which it had smashed into the window. There was a letter tied to its leg, which was sealed with a red wax seal with a tabby cat with glasses and specific markings. That was McGonagall's private seal.

"What does she want, dear?" Isabel asked, moving closer to him as he began to read the letter. "Is it anything important?"

"Not really, as far as I can tell," Cygnus said. "She just said she wanted to meet with me. Here, read the letter." And passed her the letter, which read:

 _Dear Lord Greengrass,_

 _Thank you for reading this letter. As I've informed you already, I have some important things I must discuss with you about, and seeing as you might have forgotten and I need to arrange things, I've enclosed a number of times that I might be free. The address is, of course, my private quarters in Hogwarts, but if that makes you uncomfortable, we can always arrange a time and place that we can both be at Hogsmeade. I believe meeting over Christmas may be too late._

 _My password, if you agree to meeting me in my private quarters, is "Meow, I'm a tabby cat". I have made it so that you can Floo-call me whenever you wish, but if you don't want to Floo-call me so we can arrange a time, I would be happy to Floo-call you instead. I believe I cannot discuss this with anybody else as it relates to young Mister Potter, and Albus seems to have an unhealthy interest – or obsession, really – with Mister Potter._

 _Minerva McGonagall  
Hogwarts Professor of Transfiguration  
Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress  
Daughter of the Elder House of McGonagall  
_

"I'm going to meet her," Cygnus said determinedly. "I _have_ to know what's going on, and how it relates to young Harry."

Isabel nodded, patting his arm. "And I won't stop you, dear. I have to know as well."

.

* * *

Hey guys!

I'm sorry for posting late, but I'll be actually sticking to my schedule after. It's quite nice to have a particular "posting day", so I don't forget about my fanfic and leave it resting for weeks and weeks at a time when I've got writer's block (which is quite often, but the best solution I've found for it is to force yourself to write anyway). I won't forget you guys, and thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites, so keep them coming, I quite like seeing all those notification emails from Fanfiction about this story.

What else is there to talk about here in my author's note, before I wrap it up? Oh, yeah, the Horcruxes. Right, they'll be dealt with over the course of this fanfic – after all, I kinda _have_ to deal with all of them so Voldemort can be defeated in the end, right? But I can't give you any hints about when, as I haven't planned it all out yet – just that I definitely _will_. The Unspeakables know about them, of course, so I think they'll help. Message (or put it in a review) me with your ideas if you think it's a good one!

And I'm sorry for posting late, I forgot to post it on Friday and I was too busy on Saturday. I'll try not to forget next week!

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count: 5,100


	18. Potions

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to my idol, J.K. Rowling.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty – Potions**

 _By Shadow of the Blue Moon_

"Ugh, I don't want to go to class," Harry moaned that day. It was now Monday, the 11th of November, 1991, and the first day after the "official" end of the half-term exams. While the last half of the week had been fun – especially with House parties on the Friday and Saturday nights after the exam, which everyone was invited to as long as they were in that House – it was time to go back to hard work. Homework was, yet again, going to become their "normal" thing to do after classes ended, instead of lazing about.

"I don't want to, either," Daphne said. "It's Defence Against the Dark Arts with Dumbledore first, and frankly, that man creeps me out with those twinkling eyes of his, and him offering everybody lemon drops. I've also felt some 'pushes' against my Occlumency shields, which I think are from Dumbledore as he's the only one powerful enough in the class. I certainly can't imagine one of the other students doing so, as practically all of them don't have enough power nor experience, we're only _eleven_."

"That does make sense," Tracey said. "But isn't that illegal? I remember reading about it some time before, or Mother or Father told me about it."

"Of course it is," Harry replied. "Unauthorised mind-entering into minors is dealt with severely, especially if the victim is of a Noble and Ancient House or above."

"He also seems to have a sort of interest with you personally, Harry," Daphne replied. "I've noticed him staring at you at meals, across the Great Hall, or during classes. I've tried not to meet his eyes – I would rather not be on the end of a Legilimency attack – but I _have_ noticed that he's been staring at you, not at our group in general."

"That is rather odd," Hermione replied. "Hey, Harry, how come you're drinking that funny red liquid today, instead of pumpkin juice? I thought you loved pumpkin juice."

"It's not mine, but you're welcome to try," Harry replied. "I'm sure that it's just juice. Look, some other people also have reddish liquids that look like this, and it seems okay."

Hermione eyed it doubtfully, but eventually she gave in. "Well, I'm sure it won't hurt to drink some." And with that, she downed the drink.

.

* * *

.

Up at the Head Table, Dumbledore almost broke into a full sweat as soon as he saw Miss Granger drinking the potion instead of young Harry. He _knew_ he had forgotten to do something today, but he couldn't remember what. But _now_ he remembered – it was to compulse young Harry to drink it! And why was it that red colour, instead of blending in with the pumpkin juice? It must have been because it was stronger now and Severus must have forgotten to test it in his haste to help Poppy with her healing potions.

Surreptitiously, he took his wand out and, beneath the table, cast a listening spell in the direction of Miss Granger and their group. Immediately, one ear filled with her voice, speaking. "Tastes a little off," Miss Granger said, before gagging. "I don't think I'll be drinking _that_ again." That might be normal, but Dumbledore was still panicking. With a Muggleborn like Miss Granger, they had _no_ Occlumency skills or shields, and the potion would be too strong for her. That meant consequences would happen, unknown ones.

"Then don't drink it again," Miss Davis said, which could be heard by him through the charm. "But come on, we've got class in about ten minutes. Are all of you done drinking off-coloured and off-tasting juices, and can we get to class yet? I don't want to be late."

 _Class!_ Dumbledore had forgotten about that. Now he would have to closely pay attention to Miss Granger, as well as teaching his class. No matter, he would hurry to his office and prepare a quick worksheet for them to do that lesson, as well as getting some stationery to write down things he heard from the charm might be important while the class was doing the worksheet. "Fawkes!" he called, and was greeted with audible gasps as his phoenix appeared. "My office, please." And with a _Whoosh!_ , he flashed away.

A few seconds later, he arrived back in his office, with a smug look. He always did like seeing other people react to his phoenix, and him flashing away suddenly in a _Whoosh!_. It just enhanced the image of the "Leader of the Light", a persona and image he had spent decades on. After all, everyone knew that phoenixes were only attracted to those strongly of the Light. He also liked the admiration he could see on people's faces, and the adoration.

But now, for the worksheet. He rummaged through old student papers, before coming across one. " _Gemino!_ " he said, duplicating the worksheet. It was a second-year worksheet, but never mind that. Nobody really cared, and nobody knew anyway. There were also people like Harry Potter, who was naturally talented at Defence; the Slytherins who definitely had had tutors in the subject and probably already had a third-year education in everything; and there were Ravenclaws, of course, who were quite smart.

"Good choice, Albus," a portrait, of a woman named Antonia Creaseworthy. Antonia Creaseworthy had been Headmistress before, and a Ravenclaw before that, and had gotten straight O's in her O.W.L.s _and_ her N.E.W.T.s, and was known as one of the foremost educators in her time. "Are you truly planning to give that to the second-years, though? It might be a little simple for them, as half of them are probably studying for their W.O.M.B.A.T.s and I've heard education is more advanced these days."

"No, the first-years," Dumbledore replied. "It's a class of Ravenclaws and Slytherins mixed, so it should be a good choice. They'll be able to cope with it adequately, I believe. I'll also be available if they need help, as well as their textbooks and their peers. Half of them have had tutoring before coming to Hogwarts, they'll deal with it."

"Ravenclaws and Slytherins? Goodness, times certainly _have_ changed," Antonia replied, moving over to the bookshelf in her painting. "Back in the olden days, it was only Gryffindors and Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. But it's good that you're becoming open-minded, and finally accepting that Gryffindors and Slytherins actually can't stand each other, no matter what you say to the contrary. You can do what you like to the wards, but they will still hate each other, even if the anger may be a little less."

"I don't agree, though," Albus grumbled, frowning. "I was pushed into it, the School Board and my Heads of Houses decided. It's also been a nice chat, Antonia, but I must go." He bid goodbye to the portrait – whom he secretly didn't like chatting to, as the woman was always questioning him about this and that and saying times had changed – and called for Fawkes to flash him to the classroom. It would give off an impression, and he wouldn't be late. The bonus was that Harry and his friends in the class would be there.

.

* * *

.

Defence Against the Dark Arts that day, in Harry's opinion, was a complete waste of time. Dumbledore seemed to be even more "spaced out" than usual – and he seemed to be that way quite often over these past few days – and instead had just given them a worksheet while he did parchmentwork. It was slightly challenging, but not that much, and the group of six had finished it about two-thirds of the way into the lesson, no trouble at all. They did their homework for DADA – reading from the textbook.

But the real trouble started at lunch. Once they met up for lunch, Harry noticed that Hermione had this strange look in her eyes, which were glazed over and she was staring off into the middle distance, her eyes fixed on something. "Hermione, are you alright?" he asked concernedly. "Is there something wrong?"

"Dumbledore is coming," she said in a strange, robotic voice. "Dumbledore is the greatest man ever. I am extremely loyal to him. He is the Leader of the Light."

"Um... 'Mione? Cut it out, you're starting to scare us," Neville said, taking a bite out of his lunch. "Mmm, this beef is really good."

"Neville! Stop thinking about your beef and focus on Hermione!" Daphne said, slightly sharply, and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, _boys_." She turned back to Hermione. "Hermione?"

"My name is Hermione," Hermione said, in that strange voice again. "I am a follower of Dumbledore. I am a member of the Light. I am loyal to Dumbledore alone."

"Do you think it could be that red juice she drank at breakfast?" Tracey asked. "Because what if it wasn't juice? What if it was a potion? If it really was a potion and the potion was strong enough, depending on what it was, how it was made, the age of the potion and what part of the body it affects, she could die." And the group looked at each other in horror, except for Hermione, who continued to wax poetic about the greatness of Dumbledore.

"Well, we _have_ to get her to the Hospital Wing soon, then," Draco said. "The red liquid was right in front of Harry, so I'll assume it was meant to be for Harry, then. And who knows who might want to potion him? There's quite a number of Slytherins, most of which are scions of Dark Houses, some of whom could easily get access to dark potions. Then they're also trying to attack the rest of _us_ – us snakes for "betraying" the Dark, the Gryffindors for being Gryffindors, and the rest for being Harry's friends."

"We've got to hurry, then. Some are fast-acting potions, if I remember" Pansy replied. She looked towards Hermione and said, "Hermione, we're going to go to the Hospital Wing now, as a potion incident has happened. That's alright with you, isn't it?"

"Anything Dumbledore is fine with is fine with me," Hermione said. "Is he okay with it?"

"Of course," Pansy replied. "He wants to meet you in the Hospital Wing."

"Very well," Hermione said, rising with stiff, jerky movements. "We will go to the Hospital Wing, if Dumbledore will be there. Great man, Dumbledore." And the ten of them sighed, knowing that it would probably be quite difficult to get rid of the potion, if it was that strong. But meanwhile, Daphne was puzzling something out. _Why would anyone want to potion Harry? And who had potioned Harry, and how did they know?_

.

* * *

.

Back at his office, Dumbledore was almost panicking. This wasn't good! Poppy, being such a good Healer, would easily be able to detect the loyalty potion for what it was, and what it did. Yes, she had those layers of compulsions that he had put on wrapped around her, but that wouldn't stop Harry and his friends from asking what the potions was, and what it did. He hadn't put a compulsion on her to avoid telling them _that_ , and he was afraid of what might happen.

Harry, luckily, didn't seem _too_ good at recognising which potion was which, as he, after all, only had a two-month-long magical education, as well as self-study for just over a month during the summer, when he had escaped the Dursleys a week shy of his eleventh birthday. But the others might. That was dangerous, and he had to stop it, by turning up when they were on their way to the Hospital Wing in an empty hallway, stunning and Obliviating them all and putting Miss Granger into magical stasis.

Severus, of course, would then have to hurry to make the counter-potion. Perhaps he could use a Time-Turner, but it would have to send him back years. No, no, no, it would be best for Severus to hurry up. Now time was against him, instead of working with him. And another thing to worry about was the familial connections of Miss Granger's friends. She currently had nine friends: Misters Potter, Longbottom and Malfoy, and Misses Greengrass, Davis, Parkinson, Abbott, Bones and Lovegood.

That meant she was connected to Augusta Longbottom, an aged warrior and powerhouse in the politics field; Lucius Malfoy, a slippery man who had the ear of the Minister; Cygnus Greengrass, Lord Davis (who he could never remember the name of) and Lord Abbott who all had many connections; Xenophilius Lovegood, owner of _The Quibbler_ ; and Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE. He was the most worried about the first and the latter, as while they were of the Light, they were not Dumbledore supporters.

Well, actually, Amelia Bones would have to take first place. She was very powerful, being the Head of the DMLE, and was known for being ruthless towards those that had been doing illegal things. And instead of separating things by "Light" and "Dark", she tended to separate things by "Legal" and "Illegal", or "Lawful" and "Unlawful". Which was not good, as while he was "Light", his actions could also be considered "Illegal" and "Unlawful" to those who simply couldn't see the whole picture, the Greater Good.

Now, he had to try and track them down. Donning his – well, James Potter's, and now young Harry's – Invisibility Cloak, which he suspected was _the_ Invisibility Cloak, the one that Death himself made so well that even Death couldn't find Ignatius Peverell, the brother who had the Cloak, he set off on a journey through the castle to find them. It never occured to him the many complications arising from time travel and Obliviating everyone, as well as what would happen to Miss Granger.

.

* * *

.

Back in Professor McGonagall's private quarters, Cygnus Greengrass had just Flooed in and was taking a seat in one of McGonagall's armchairs, as Minerva busied herself with pouring glasses of Butterbeer for them. "You can have Firewhisky if you want, but I'm afraid I have to teach this afternoon," Minerva said as she handed Cygnus one of the two glasses of Butterbeer, and then sat herself down on an armchair facing the one Cygnus was occupying. "Would you like some Firewhisky, Cygnus?"

"No, thank you," Cygnus said, taking a long drink from his glass. "But, there's no use beating around the bush, so let's get straight to it. What have you asked me here for?"

Minerva sighed. "I have heard rumours that Voldemort is returning," she replied. "I have a very trustworthy source, who I _cannot_ – not _will_ not – say the name of nor can I reveal anything relating to their identity, who has informed me of these rumours from the Dark side. They have also stated that some are preparing for the Dark Lord's return. Another thing is I overheard Severus telling Albus that his Mark burned for a few minutes the night before. That was two days before Mister Potter and Miss Greengrass' trip."

Cygnus leaned back in his seat. "I cannot say I have heard of these rumours before, but they must have been going on for a while if it happened before their trip. I also have to say that it must have some possibility, if the Mark of one known Death Eater burned and the Dark are preparing, as your 'trustworthy source' tells you and you say. But how do you know that Snape's Mark really burned, and that he wasn't lying? He could be lying to cause panic if he is truly on the Dark and Voldemort's side."

"I can feel the darkness beginning to approach again, Cygnus," Minerva said, drinking out of her glass. "Can't you feel it? It's in your bones – it's in the bones of everyone who survived the last war, was born or lived in it. You can feel when the darkness is starting to approach us, and when it is beginning to overwhelm us."

Cygnus snorted. "You want me to rely on your _bones' feelings_? You have no hard evidence, nothing but the words you heard, but you want me to believe it? And what do you want me to do with this information, anyway? We were never particularly close; why inform me, not others as well? Or do you want _me_ to do so?"

"No, Cygnus," Minerva said wearily. "I want you to begin training Mister Potter to defeat You-Know-Who. We know he cannot be dead, so he will come back. I will be informing several of my other trusted friends and colleagues to prepare a 'bolt-hole', if necessary, and I advise you to do so as well. Prepare for the war, and train Mister Potter. That is all I ask of you – you will need to prepare for the coming war. It is inevitable."

"I will do so," Cygnus said quietly. "I believe you – I feel it in my bones as well. The Dark is rising yet again, and we must not lose, or everything as we know it will be gone."

.

* * *

.

In the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey commanded Hermione to lie down on a hospital bed, before scanning her over with her wand. Once she came to her head, she frowned and re-cast a spell. Once she had done so, she immediately stated, "I have it now. She was poisoned with a loyalty potion, containing an alchemical component, which I cannot remove without help. She needs help quickly, as the alchemical component is slowly destroying her mind and poisoning her heart. I have to call St. Mungo's."

Harry grew angry, and his face reflected that. "Do that, and if you need any help with getting some to come over to help what they see as 'just a Muggleborn', I would be glad to help them. My godfather, Lord Black, will not stand for this. And I suspect neither will any of my friends' parents and relatives." The other eight nodded.

" Madam Pomfrey, what do you think is going to happen to Hermione if help doesn't arrive in time?" Hannah asked.

"Well," Madam Pomfrey said, sighing. "Worst-case scenario, she dies within a couple of days due to the potion destroying her mind and poisoning her heart. Slightly better, but still quite bad, she lives for up to a month longer, but will remain unconscious for most of that time. Another option, though quite unlikely, is that she is strong enough to overcome the potion, and her magic will heal her. However, should that happen, her magic will be drained by up to a third of her magic."

"We need help, right away," Daphne said. "Call St. Mungo's, right away, and I'll be contacting my father." Madam Pomfrey nodded, and rushed to her fireplace, where she used her emergency link to St. Mungo's to call for help. Soon, a couple of Healers stepped through, into Hogwarts.

"Yes, Poppy?" One, a dark-blond Healer with light blue eyes, asked. "Is this the girl you said was poisoned?" He gestured to Hermione, lying prone on the bed.

"Yes, this is Miss Hermione Granger, a first-year Gryffindor," Madam Pomfrey said. "According to my scans, she was poisoned with a loyalty potion containing an alchemical component that is slowly destroying her mind, and needs immediate help. Is there anything we can do to help?"

The other Healer, one with dark hair and dark blue eyes, looked grim. "Yes, but it is very tricky and requires a lot of help. I'll call over some others," she said.

.

* * *

.

Albus was not in a good mood. Once he had arrived invisibly, he had seen two Healers from St. Mungo's – Master Healer Miles Pennyworth and Healer Clarice Hydox – already working on Miss Granger's prone body. He could hear Poppy and the two Healers muttering about Miss Granger's mind and heart, and Miss Granger's friends were waiting in one corner, quietly talking, young Harry with a mien of anger on his face, with his betrothed trying to calm him down and whispering in his ear.

Then, he slipped out, took off the Invisibility Cloak and came back in, his face displaying concern. "Poppy! What's going on? A portrait informed me that Miss Granger was acting strangely, and bid me come to see her," he said. "Is there anything the matter with Miss Granger? And I must welcome you two, Miles and Clarice. How are you doing today?"

"Well enough, but Miss Granger is most certainly _not_ doing well," Miles Pennyworth replied. "She has been poisoned with a potion with an alchemical component. But don't you know that already? After all, the loyalty potion is directed to you. It took only the children here informing us about her recent behaviour to deduce that either you, or your pet Death Eater, Severus Snape, has slipped her a loyalty potion _with an alchemical component_ keyed to you, which is slowly poisoning her now."

Albus' face paled. "I must say, Miles, that is a very serious accusation," he said. "Surely you know I'd never poison any one of my students?"

"No, I _don't_ know," Miles replied. "I was a Ravenclaw, and I come from a Grey House. We were neutral, and from afar, the House of Pennyworth kept a close eye on you and the Dark Lord. And I have to say, your actions certainly weren't as Good and Light as you seem to believe. Sending out those loyal members of your club to die was one."

"Plus," Clarice Hydox went on, "there is no proof that it wasn't you who poisoned her. Guilty until proved innocent, as some countries say."

"I do in this case," Poppy agreed. "There is no proof that it _wasn't_ you, and quite a bit of evidence that strongly points to you doing it. Now, get _out_! You are distracting Miles and Clarice from helping me save this young lady's _life_!" And hit him with a mild Banishing Charm, which threw him out.

But the worst for Albus was not yet to come. That dinnertime, as Albus sat pondering his problems with Ms. Granger, Amelia Bones burst into the Great Hall, with several Aurors following behind her, wands drawn and ready for attack. "Harry! Are you alright? Has anything happened?" she asked immediately, ignoring the Aurors who were gasping for breath behind her. "Susan, is there a good reason for you summoning me?"

"Yes, Madam Bones," Harry said, pointing a finger at Dumbledore, before turning to Snape. "I want Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and Potions Master and Professor Severus Tobias Snape arrested and charged for poisoning, with their weapon of choice being loyalty potions."

Dumbledore started to stand up. "Excuse me, Mister Potter?"

"Yes, Headmaster, you heard me right," Harry said. "Madam Bones, would you kindly ask your Aurors to block all forms of escape?" Madam Bones did that, before casting an Anti-Portkey ward and an Anti-Apparition ward over the Great Hall, as her Aurors moved to block both exits from the Great Hall. "Proof can be found with Madam Poppy Pomfrey, Master Healer Miles Pennyworth and Healer Clarice Hydox's testimonies, who can your charges: Dumbledore for the poisoning, Snape for aiding and abetting him."

"And what I am meant to be charged with for aiding and abetting?" Severus Snape stood up, speaking in that low, measured voice that was feared by most of the school.

"For the poisoning of Miss Hermione Granger, who still remains in critical condition, even after all this time. The Healers actually say that she may die."

.

* * *

Hey guys!

Sorry for posting late. I was going to write last and the weekend beforeweekend, but then I realised I've got all these classes on weekends – so if you can't see an update by Friday that week by 11 a.m. GMT, then just wait until either Sunday (highly doubtful though) or Monday (larger possibility). I took quite a while with this chapter trying to figure out who should take the potion instead, so sorry and thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites as well!

I'm also writing another fanfiction at the moment – I won't be publishing it for a while though, at least until I've finished it – so I'm sorry if chapter of this story is delayed, as I write what fanfic I feel like, as I sometimes get Author's Block. I'm also trying out a new sort of "style" – having the "." there to separate the story from the greyish line. I'll be doing the same thing to the rest of the chapters, and "fixing" all the ones I've already posted so far. Sorry if you don't like it, but you can always ignore it.

Shadow of the Blue Moon x

Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 4,500 (shortest chapter to date)


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